At that instant, gunfire broke out in another part of the apartment. Cardona and his men had entered. They were encountering the gangsters in the reception room.
The Shadow, turning momentarily, spied a sight that no one else saw — for all eyes had turned in the new direction.
Coming through the floor of the spirit cabinet, revolver in hand, was Imam Singh. The servant had been bound by Dick Terry. He had escaped and had climbed the ladder to the trapdoor that led to the spirit cabinet.
The bottom of the cabinet was a foot above the floor, but it, too, opened, and its broad base obscured a view of the center spot beneath.
Incongruous in the character of Geoffrey Garwood, Imam Singh was nevertheless a figure of hatred as he raised his gun to fire at Dick Terry.
The Shadow ended this menace. He sprawled Imam Singh with a bullet in his shoulder, and as the false Hindu wavered, The Shadow leaped forward and flung him to the floor of the room. Joe Cardona came dashing in the door. He saw the tall form of Thomas Telford — whom he did not recognize as The Shadow — with the curtains of the cabinet closing about it. Before he could understand this, Cardona spied Rajah Brahman, grabbing up his revolver and leaping back for the safety of the Buddha. The detective opened a volley. His bullets were sure. Rajah Brahman fell dead.
Dick Terry was struggling with Imam Singh, trying to capture the man alive. But the man broke away, and snatched his gun from the floor. He aimed at Joe Cardona but the detective dropped him with a shot from close range.
The action of Imam Singh showed Cardona that Dick Terry was on the side of justice. The young man dropped his gun when he saw that the detective was safe.
Joe Cardona, seeing no other foes, snatched away the curtains of the spirit cabinet. The Shadow was gone! He had used Rajah Brahman's own trapdoor to effect his exit.