Something whirred through the air. Carpenter’s staring eyes caught a swift, flashing gleam. A cry came from Hooks Borglund. As Carpenter stood astounded, he saw a knife quivering in Borglund’s arm!
The revolver dropped upon the floor. Carpenter was too amazed to make a move. It seemed a long moment before he understood. Through the window — from the seclusion of that darkened suite across the court — an unseen hand had hurled this certain blade!
The Shadow!
Only he could have performed this startling deed. Without betraying his presence, without the sound of a revealing gunshot, he had come to the rescue. Hooks Borglund, wounded and disarmed, was drawing the knife from his forearm amidst a surging deluge of blood.
A CHAIN of thoughts flashed though Carpenter’s brain. He realized the effectiveness of this rescue. A shot from the other suite would have warned the gangsters in the living room that a hidden foe had entered the fray. They might then have come to the rescue.
But now, Hooks Borglund was staggering, his bloated lips gasping, his wicked eyes bulging. No betrayal had been given.
Carpenter leaped for the revolver. Hooks, momentarily recovering, saw the action. He, too, made a grasp. He caught the gun in his left hand. Carpenter, agile and unwounded, snatched it from his grasp. Hooks, despite his pain, leaped forward to grapple. His hands clawed for Carpenter’s throat, and a spout of blood swept over Carpenter’s clothes.
There was no alternative. One or the other — and Carpenter held the opportunity now. He fired point-blank at the man who was choking him. Hooks Borglund collapsed and rolled upon the floor. His hands clawed convulsively; then were still.
Herbert Carpenter stood still. He looked at the form upon the floor. He studied those black, inscrutable windows across the court. He looked toward the door to the living room, and prepared for an attack. It did not come.
Then he knew the reason. Hooks Borglund had entered here to kill. Those gangsters had expected the shot that they had heard. They were awaiting Borglund, who had promised to join them. They could not for one moment suspect that Hooks lay dead.