There was no response to the inquiry from Wheels. All the masters of crime were satisfied with present instructions.
“Big game!” said the leader, in a low growl. “Big money! That goes for all of us. I picked the crowd of you, because I knew you could deliver. Stick with it. Carpenter has the floor to-morrow. Watch him come through. That’s all.”
One by one, the men left the room. Big Tom Bagshawe was the last of the four kings to depart. Only Wheels Bryant remained. The light of his cigar glowed and moved slowly up and down; then it was extinguished in an ash tray. The ace had gone.
THERE was a movement in the room, during which a slight knocking sound could have been heard. Silence followed. At last, the switch clicked by the wall.
In the light that filled the room, a person stood alone. Tall, sinister, and unearthly, this being was a weird presence. Clad in black cloak, his features hidden by a broad-brimmed slouch hat, he seemed to be viewing the places where the gathered crime masters had located themselves during their brief conference.
A soft laugh came from unseen lips. It was the laugh of The Shadow. Unobserved, the master of the dark had come to this place. A silent witness, he had attended the meeting of the men who plotted evil.
Even the long hands were gloved in black. Only two eyes betokened the presence of the personage within those all-concealing garments. Burning eyes they were — eyes that sensed some meaning in everything they saw.
The black cloak swished as the awesome apparition moved to the center of the room, and stopped by the huge desk. There, black fingers lifted the half-smoked cigar that lay in an ash tray, and then replaced the partly consumed perfecto.
A whispered laugh came from beneath the broad-brimmed hat. The Shadow moved past the desk, and seated himself in the chair — the very spot that Wheels Bryant had chosen. He placed his hands upon the edge of the desk.
There was a slight noise at the door. With a rapid movement, The Shadow swung away from the desk, and stretched his tall form in the narrow crevice behind the open door of the cabinet at the side of the room. The outer door opened, and Big Tom Bagshawe entered.