He raised a glass of cognac, and his companion did the same. They were drinking to their future exploits, these Apache killers. But the glasses stopped before they had reached the lips for which they were intended.
The door of the small room had opened. There, framed in the narrow doorway, stood a man clad in black. His appearance was amazing — even to these men of crime.
A black cloak hung from his shoulders, and his hands were hidden in its folds. A large slouch hat was turned down to cover his features. All that was visible were two glowing eyes!
Those eyes were focused upon the money on the table. That represented a payment for the killing of Herbert Brockley, the American. Andre saw the direction in which the eyes were staring. He reached to grasp the money.
Quick as a flash, the man in black stepped forward. His left hand extended and fell upon the twenty thousand francs. An oath came from Louis, who sat at the left. Rising, he whisked a revolver from his pocket.
The weapon was never used. As Louis sought to level it and press the trigger, a shot came from the folds of the black cloak. The hidden hand had been covering the Apache. Louis toppled from his chair. Andre leaped forward to seize that hidden hand. He grappled with the stranger, and pressed him back against the wall. There was another muffled shot, and the second Apache fell to the floor. A soft, weird laugh came from the man in black, as he gathered up the twenty thousand francs and swept through the door, with the money beneath his cloak.
The Shadow — terror to the denizens of New York's underworld — had conquered two of the most murderous men in Paris. In the midst of their strong-hold, he had deprived them of the blood money that had been paid for the death of Herbert Brockley!
Those two were not the only Apaches in the Poisson d'Or. Gunshots were a signal to the bloodthirsty crew that frequented the Parisian dive.
As The Shadow stepped into the corridor outside the partition room, half a dozen men appeared from the other end of the passage.
There were two entrances to the corridor — one from the front room, whence these murderers were coming; the other toward an obscure door of the Poisson d'Or — the way by which The Shadow had entered, unseen.