“I clutched my gun; and he was gone. He must have turned the corner and slipped down the stairs.”
“Why didn’t you follow him?”
“I was worried about you. He came from here. Didn’t you see any one in the room?”
Paget shook his head.
“Wilbur,” he said, “maybe you’re the one that’s seeing things. I never heard of The Shadow before.
“I thought some one was here in the room; but I decided it was my imagination. If he came in, it must have been by the window—”
Paget broke off his sentence. He left the bed and looked from the window. His eye roved across the expanse of lawn toward a bed of large shrubs. Blake had come over beside him. Suddenly Paget seized the other man’s arm.
“Look!” he exclaimed hoarsely. “Look! Over there!”
ON the other side of the lawn stood a motionless figure garbed in black. It fitted exactly with the description of the man whom Blake had seen in the hallway. Tall, slender and erect, the black-clad form seemed to be watching the house.
With a short oath, Blake drew his automatic. Before he could level his weapon, the figure turned suddenly and disappeared behind the shrubs. Paget gripped his companion’s wrist.