“Well, I’ve heard of a shadow — The Shadow, they call him. He’s a power in the underworld. No one knows who he is or what his game may be.
“Maybe he’s a crook — maybe he’s a detective — or perhaps a government man. But he’s put a crimp in more than one big shot, I’ll tell you that!”
The speaker paused and looked cautiously about him.
“I never knew why they called him The Shadow,” he continued. “I thought it was just a name. But you startled me tonight, the way you said that word ‘shadow.’
“I’ve been waiting in the hall, by that little window that looks out on the yard. I saw some shadows moving in the moonlight; but I thought nothing of them. Then I turned and saw — The Shadow!”
“Where?” demanded Paget.
“By the door of your room. There was a light burning at the end of the hall — away from me. There he was — a man in black, standing as still as a statue. He had a cloak around his shoulders, and a big hat hid his face.
“I had my gun in my pocket, with my hand on the butt. That didn’t matter. When I saw him, I couldn’t budge.”
“Where did he go? What did he do?”
“He stood there. I just couldn’t believe that he was real, or alive. Then suddenly he moved. He didn’t seem to walk. He glided, moving along the wall of the hallway like a shadow.