Then his body was whirled under the impetus of a jujutsu hold. He was precipitated headlong, in a mammoth whirl. His senses left him as he crashed upon the paving of the alleyway.
Silently and swiftly, Inspector Zull had been rendered helpless in the darkness of the alleyway. Then, a light appeared — the glare of a tiny electric torch.
The light flickered upon the motionless face of the stunned sleuth. Its rays were focused upon the pockets of his coat. The light went out. A form bent above the unconscious man for barely a moment.
The tones of a low, weird laugh reverberated from the walls of the cul-de-sac. It was a laugh that carried a foreboding chill — a laugh that seemed too weird to have been uttered by human lips.
Then the man who had laughed was gone. Only the still form of Acting Inspector Zull remained.
Silence followed the laugh of The Shadow!
CHAPTER VIII
TELLTALE MARKS
WHEN Acting Inspector Zull opened his eyes, he was immediately conscious of a dull pain at the back of his head. He sat up and wondered where he was.
All was black about him. He rubbed his eyes; they became accustomed to the darkness. As he looked about him, Zull could see a vague, gloomy patch of light not far away.