The gambler looked surprised when he saw the light. He surveyed the room suspiciously, but his glance passed over the unmoving stretch of black that came from beside the cabinet door.
Then Big Tom nodded as though he understood. He left this room dark; but Wheels Bryant had remained. Evidently the big shot had turned on the light before departing.
Big Tom went to the desk and turned the lock. He helped himself to a cigar from the humidor on the desk, and went out extinguishing the light as he departed.
There was a swish in the dark. A soft clicking came from the desk. Then followed a succession of almost indistinguishable sounds.
When Big Tom Bagshawe returned to the office a short while later, the light that he turned on revealed no shadow on the floor.
This time, the room was entirely empty. But Big Tom, when he sat at the desk, appeared surprised. Once again, he pulled his keys from his pocket and locked the desk.
Puzzlement showed on his puffy face. He walked about the room and closed the open door of the cabinet. Then, with a shrug of his shoulders, he went back into the gambling rooms.
Big Tom Bagshawe was not the man to worry about trivial matters. He was absent-minded at times. Where he suspected nothing, he looked for nothing.
He, alone of the five plotters, might have divined that an unknown personage had been here tonight. But Big Tom did not suspect that The Shadow had come and gone!