“I promise full obedience!”
“With no conditions?”
“With no conditions!”
THERE was silence while the import of his words impressed themselves on Clifford Marsland’s brain. He realized now the strangeness of his position.
He had become a figure in gangdom, due to his incarceration in Sing Sing for a daring robbery which had been attributed to him. He was believed to be a murderer. He was known in the underworld. He had come here tonight in answer to a summons.
A sudden light dawned upon him. When he left, his reputation would be even greater! Even as the thought occurred to Cliff Marsland, The Shadow spoke.
“A man lies murdered in this room,” came the sinister tones of the being in black. “He was a notorious racketeer — a man with few friends, but with a wide reputation for his deeds.
“The killer of Tim Waldron will gain great fame in the underworld. But only two men — besides the killer himself — will know the identity of the murderer! You are one; I am the other!
“To the underworld, the slayer of Tim Waldron will be Cliff Marsland — the only person who is supposed to have visited this room tonight. We shall let that rumor spread.
“But listen closely, Clifford Marsland, while I speak the name of the real murderer — Ernie Shires! When he killed Waldron, he planned your death, for he knew that you were coming here, and that the crime would be laid to you.