Paget lowered the window. He pulled down the shade and turned on the light. He found his cigarette holder and a package of cigarettes. He sat in a chair and began to smoke.
The other man regarded him with approval. It was the false Wilbur Blake who showed signs of nervousness now — not Rodney Paget. For the man who had met the Silent Seven was scheming, and his plans were designed to doom The Shadow.
Neither Paget nor Blake went back to bed. They sat up until dawn, smoking and talking. When daylight came they aroused Herbert and ordered breakfast. An hour later Otto was summoned.
Rodney Paget shook hands with his friend Wilbur Blake on the side porch of the house.
“I won’t see you again for some time, Wilbur,” he said. “Send my luggage in later on. I’ll be staying at the apartment.”
He joined Otto in the speedster, and the swift car rolled down the drive.
CHAPTER XIV. THROUGH NUMBER ONE
WHEN Rodney Paget arrived in his apartment, he closed the door and looked carelessly about him.
Even when alone, he carried the bored expression which had become second nature with him.
His eyes rested upon a picture that hung at a slight angle. He approached it. He raised the lower corner of the picture the fraction of an inch from the wall, and noted a tiny pencil mark.