The detective realized that he was viewing a figure that had brought terror to the underworld; whose very existence was a mystery to the police and criminals alike. Cardona’s lips were dry as they phrased two words which the detective did not utter aloud.
“The Shadow!”
The demand for action surged through Cardona’s brain. The police had nothing on The Shadow. The mysterious man had been accused of crime, yet nothing had ever been proven against him.
On the contrary, he had — on occasions — helped the police in their war against crime, but always in his own mysterious way. He had never appeared in the light as a detective.
His purpose here tonight was a mystery to Cardona. That The Shadow was the visitor expected by Doctor Lukens the detective did not doubt.
Cardona, shrewd though he might be, was a man who jumped to immediate conclusions. Here was tangible evidence.
A dead man — Doctor George Lukens — who had been alive less than an hour before. Hovering over him was this monster of the night, the only person in the house. A dead man and a live man. The evidence lay against The Shadow.
Cardona had come to listen as a concealed observer. Now his purpose was to seize and capture a man whom he felt certain was a murderer.
The circumstances were pressing. Had his men been close by, Cardona would have proceeded cunningly. Had he felt that he was dealing with an ordinary criminal, he would have simply covered the man and demanded his surrender.
But he had heard too much of The Shadow. Now that the myth of the underworld had become reality, Cardona hesitated at halfway measures.