At the instant Birdie Crull began to shake the padlock, Isaac Coffran raised his arm and fired point-blank at the tall man in the black cloak.
Quick as a flash, The Shadow whirled backward and away from the grating. The old man’s shot had evidently missed. But now came his real opportunity.
For The Shadow encountered the box of counterfeit money. As he tripped against it, he nearly lost his balance.
Before he could raise his automatics to fire a return shot, he formed a perfect target for Isaac Coffran’s aim.
The old man’s hand was steady now. He had hoped for this. His automatic spat three times. A satanic sneer appeared upon his face as he watched The Shadow, expecting the tall form to crumple.
But The Shadow did not fall!
The automatic which Isaac Coffran had seized was the one which Blair Windsor had given to Harry Vincent. Birdie Crull had pocketed it; Vic Marquette had taken it from him. Six of its blank cartridges had been used by Vincent; Isaac Coffran had fired the other four!
* * *
The Shadow did not return the shots. Instinctively, he scented danger from another direction; Jerry, profiting by the sudden change in the situation, was whipping a gun from his pocket.
The Shadow sank to the floor. For an instant, Isaac Coffran still believed that his shots had found their mark. But the move of the fighter in black was voluntary; made with definite purpose.