Part 9 (1/2)
In a short while, the doork.n.o.b clicked. The portal opened inward. The Shadow was out of sight behind the door when Toyne pa.s.sed him in the gloom.
The secretary let the door close and took to the stairs, not noticing the cloaked lurker who stood so close beside him.
It would have been unfortunate for Toyne if he had detected The Shadow.
An automatic was ready to deliver its deadening thud upon the secretary's skull.
The Shadow's uplifted hand was capable of driving down swift sledges to-night.
WHEN Toyne's footsteps had faded, The Shadow slowly opened the door - a simple matter from this side. He paused as he saw motion in the pa.s.sage. A figure stepped from the door of the lookout room. It was Creelon. The master-spy had decided to take a preliminary view of Bryland to-night.
The Shadow waited until Creelon had entered the reception room; then made swift strides for the spy's own lookout spot. Reaching it, The Shadow heard the murmur of voices through the low-toned loud-speaker. A moment later, he was viewing Creelon and Bryland through the Argus mirror.
”Your terms have been met,” Creelon was affirming, in a precise tone.
”The legation did not like the plan at first; but at last a way was arranged.”
The pale-faced spy produced a thin packet of papers. He opened them for Bryland's inspection.
”Here is the emba.s.sy's own statement,” declared Creelon, ”with its seal.
These other papers are securities, of no especial value. The letter, however, orders that they be redeemed for the sum of one million dollars.”
”I understand,” affirmed Bryland. ”An important country - like the one that you temporarily represent - would not care to have it known that it defaulted on a promised payment.”
”Precisely,” declared Creelon. ”You could make more than a million dollars' worth trouble with these. Therefore, you will receive the money demanded, unless -”
”Unless I fail to deliver the NEC,” supplied Bryland. ”If I fail, I don't collect. The purchasers of the code will make trouble for me instead, no matter what the cost. After all, the NEC is not mentioned in this official doc.u.ment.”
Smiling, Bryland pocketed the papers and extended his hand to Creelon.
”All's fair in our game,” he told the spy. ”No hard feelings because you tried to double-cross me, Creelon. By the way, The Shadow slipped you, didn't he?”
”Yes.” Creelon's lips were firmly straight as he replied. ”I wanted to get word to you, Bryland.”
”That was unnecessary. The Shadow brought the news in person. So I disposed of him. I did not think as you once did - that I might have need of him, later.”
Creelon smiled at the quip. Such thrusts were the sort that he could relish.
His lips straightened promptly, however, as he inquired: ”What about the National Emergency Code? Where is it?” ”You will learn that to-night,” replied Bryland. He drew a slip of paper from his pocket and scrawled something upon it. ”Follow these instructions.
Don't worry” - Bryland chuckled as he noted Creelon's puzzlement - ”because there's no reason to. I'm too anxious to cash in this million. It will be in the bag when you get the National Emergency Code; so you will hear from me. I prefer, though, to be out of your territory and Was.h.i.+ngton as well, before I reveal the hiding place.”
”Very well,” agreed Creelon. ”By the way - what capital will be your destination? The emba.s.sy wants to be sure that funds are available.”
”Havana,” replied Bryland. ”There is a steams.h.i.+p leaving Norfolk early in the morning. I am driving there tonight.”
THE SHADOW saw Creelon step toward the fireplace. He knew that the spy intended to summon Toyne. The time had come for a bold move. Leaving the lookout room, The Shadow made for the door at the end of the corridor.
The Shadow was banking upon high-pressure work with Toyne. The secretary was not one of Creelon's men; he was merely a go-between from the emba.s.sy. The Shadow had handled Toyne under strained conditions the night before. This time, there would be no trouble.
With a gun muzzle between his ribs, the secretary would listen to reason.
The Shadow would tell him to go to the reception room; to conduct Bryland without a word. All the while, The Shadow would be waiting, covering Toyne from the crack of the end door. Stationed beyond that door, The Shadow would be out of sight when Toyne and Bryland went past.
After that, The Shadow could follow Bryland. Whatever Toyne told Creelon would not matter. Bryland - still the sole person who knew where the NEC was hidden - would be The Shadow's game. The Shadow was positive, from all that he had seen and heard, that Creelon could not guess the whereabouts of the code without a further tip from Bryland.
Standing in a corner by the end door, The Shadow was prepared for Toyne's arrival. A few minutes more, his bold thrust would be complete. It was the sort of stroke that The Shadow had found successful in the past. It promised well upon this occasion.
Oddly, in this instance, events were to be in too well for The Shadow.
Sometimes, good breaks at the start could bring trouble before the finish.
The next ten minutes were to prove that to The Shadow.
CHAPTER XIV.
TRAILS THROUGH THE DARK.
THE door from the stairway opened. Toyne stepped through and let it close behind him. That was when the breaks seemingly began.
Toyne did not see The Shadow. Coming from the dark stairway into the partial light of the pa.s.sage, the secretary blinked through his spectacles; let his eyes roam directly past the figure in black.
Moreover, in closing the door, Toyne let it swing of its own weight. As the door came shut, The Shadow did not hear the click of its latch. Instead of pausing to jolt the door tighter, Toyne went along the pa.s.sage toward the reception room.
The combination of circ.u.mstances caused The Shadow to make a quick change of plan. Since Toyne had not seen him, there was no reason to intimidate the secretary, because the door was unlatched. All that The Shadow had to do was step through to the stairway. There were other factors, however, to which The Shadow gave prompt heed.
Bryland would be coming through with Toyne. Perhaps the sharp-eyed crook would spot a lurking figure in the gloom beyond the door. The Shadow preferred to trail Bryland without the latter knowing it.
Moreover, since Toyne had failed to note that the door had not closed tightly, he would logically make the same error again. The Shadow saw a distinct advantage in that prospect. Promptly, he eased the door open, so softly that Toyne did not hear it. From beneath his cloak, he brought the first convenient piece of paper that he could find. It was a twenty-dollar bill that he carried in the vest pocket of his evening clothes.
Wadding the bill with his deft fingers, The Shadow thrust it into the deep latch-socket of the door frame. Pressed tightly, that wad was sure to prevent the closing of the latch. The door would be ready for quick exit when The Shadow needed it.
Toyne had stepped into the reception room, closing the door behind him.
Wheeling from the end door, The Shadow let it shut; then took swift, silent strides along the pa.s.sage, to merge with the darkness of the doorway that led to the lookout post. He had just reached that vantage point when Toyne reappeared from the reception room, accompanied by Bryland.
THE SHADOW watched the pair go to the end of the pa.s.sage. Toyne started to unlock the big door, and apparently noted that it gave easily, for he winced.
Toyne had made that same mistake once before. He was anxious that Bryland would not notice it, for he imagined that the visitor would report the fact to Creelon.
Bryland, however, looked unconcerned. Toyne ushered the ex-major through.
Watching, The Shadow could see the door thump hard when Toyne closed it from the other side. The secretary thought that he had surely shut it this time. He was wrong. One second later, The Shadow was on his way along the pa.s.sage, to take up pursuit.
From the moment that he reached the big door, The Shadow began to experience a change of luck.