“The Shadow!”
At these words from the lips of Isaac Coffran, Birdie Crull half rose from his chair. The murderer, with all his nerve, felt the pangs of terror when he heard that name. The old man had pronounced it with hideous venom.
“The Shadow!” echoed Birdie Crull.
“Yes,” said Isaac Coffran. “I think you have brought us trouble, again, Crull. I thank you for it. If there is one man whom I would like to meet, that man is The Shadow.”
* * *
The old man hesitated as he looked at Birdie Crull. Then he decided to explain.
“For years,” he said, “I lived in a house in New York. I had my schemes, my plans, and my methods. They worked. The arrangement we have here was a later development. I kept clear of it.
“Then I had a great plan. Two competent men were handling it. They would have succeeded — but for The Shadow.
“A young fellow named Duncan was a slight obstacle in our path. I arranged to dispose of him — easily. The Shadow interfered.
“Up until then, I had laughed at all talk of The Shadow. But when I encountered him, disaster followed. I left New York because of him. Clever though he may be, he could not have trailed me.”