The room was empty, but the intruder saw the thickness of cigar smoke. A curling wreath was bending upward from a cigar that lay on an ash tray.
Carpenter went to the desk. He picked up the smoldering cigar. He recognized the aroma. It was the peculiar brand that Wheels smoked. The big shot had been here tonight — but now he was gone, for the room was empty!
STANDING beside the heavy, flat-topped desk, Carpenter wondered. Then, realizing that he might be discovered, he hastened to the door. He turned out the light with his left hand, while his right clutched his pocket revolver.
Outside, Carpenter saw that he was safe. Big Tom had not returned. There was no wisdom in tarrying here. The former blackmail king left the premises.
Back in that darkened office, a soft laugh resounded after Carpenter’s departure. It was the laugh of The Shadow! A cloak swished as the mysterious being emerged, unseen, from behind the cabinet door which was so often open.
A double mystery existed where Herbert Carpenter saw only one. The coming and going of Wheels Bryant — apparently impossible in that isolated spot — was duplicated by the arrival and departure of The Shadow!
Five minutes after Herbert Carpenter had gone. Big Tom Bagshawe arrived in the office. He entered and turned on the light. He sat at his desk and chewed the end of an unlighted cigar. Then, with a broad smile, he locked the desk.
Three kings and an ace! They would be the winning hand to-morrow night.
Big Tom Bagshawe was pleased. He glanced toward the safe in the corner. That metal box was filled with ill-gotten funds. Tomorrow night it would bulge, for all the spoils would be in Big Tom’s possession.
Tomorrow night, the gambling king would be retired. He would sit here, like a huge spider, waiting to feed on new wealth. His wheels, his tables, his machines would all be gone, packed and away — to-morrow night!