Cardona, recovering his vision, turned to go back to the room where the Silent Seven had been. His path was blocked by the man who held the form of Rodney Paget.
“Stay here!” came the voice of The Shadow. “Hold this prisoner. Get him on the elevator when it comes up. There is not a moment to lose. Out! All of you!”
Cardona obeyed the command. The car was coming up again. He turned and ordered the rest of his men to enter. He felt himself pushed from behind as he staggered into the elevator with his prisoner. The car descended.
As the door opened at the first floor, a terrific explosion came from above. The whole building shook.
Masses of stone and mortar crashed upon the top of the elevator. The detectives staggered from the car and made their way to the street.
They had escaped the doom intended for them by the leader of the Silent Seven. From somewhere in the depths of the building, that murderous criminal had set off a charge that had blown the meeting room to pieces.
Had the dazed detectives been left to their own resources, they would have been unable to escape before the explosion. They had been saved because of the presence of one man — The Shadow!
CHAPTER XXI. DEATH IS DELIVERED
UPPER Broadway was in a turmoil. Police whistles sounded. The sirens of fire trucks cleaved the air.
Thousands of persons had been startled by the explosion that had wrecked the interior of the old apartment house. Police cordons were forming to keep back the excited crowd.