Hardly had the two departed before a slight motion occurred beside a thick curtain that covered the entrance to Rajah Brahman's shrine.
An invisible form came into being from the darkness. A moment later a tall black-clad man stood in the center of the dull anteroom.
It was The Shadow.
Unseen, unheard, the mysterious man of the night had entered the Hindu's sanctuary. There, veiled behind the curtain, he had listened to every word that had passed between Rajah Brahman and his visitors. The Shadow did not laugh. Noiselessly he moved back toward the blackened curtain, and seemed merged with the darkness itself.
When the Hindu's servant returned a moment later to reenter the master's sanctum, no sign of the living shadow remained.
Chapter IX — The Shadow Tells
When Imam Singh arrived in the sanctum, he found Rajah Brahman still enthroned. The boyish-faced servant spoke in English.
"She's gone," he said. "I showed her out."
"Good!" exclaimed the rajah, clambering from his cushioned throne. "That lets me out, too, Tony. Give me a hand with this rig."
The Hindu seer cast his turban on the floor, and with the servant's help began to divest himself of the cobra-headed jacket. The pointed shoes shot across the room, impelled by their owner's kick. A few moments later, Rajah Brahman stood clad in American trousers and shirt sleeves. Imam Singh — who still looked his Hindu part — left the room and returned with towel and washbasin. He produced a jar of cold cream, and the rajah set to work.