The Hand s-150 Page 4

"The biggest guy in the whole game is Giles Jondran, because he's the president of World Oil. It's the head of what they call a fifty-million-dollar corporation; and he's worth about ten million on his own. So when we've finished with the rest of them, we'll work on old Jondran himself.

  "We'll tell him that we've snagged a million, and how we got it. We'll say

  to him: 'all right old buzzard, you're going to double the ante!' And if he don't, we'll spill the whole works. It won't be us that'll take the rap. It will be guys like Milay, Thorry, and Meriden, along with this auditor Bron -"

  A buzzer interrupted. It meant a house call for Ondrey. Pinkey waited while the night club owner spoke over the telephone. Ondrey was brief; when he hung up the receiver, he turned promptly to Pinkey.

  "There is a gentleman who wants to see me," explained Ondrey. "He wants to

  arrange a banquet; and he's the sort of customer that I ought to bring in here.

  His name is Lamont Cranston."

  "You mean the guy that pals around with the police commissioner?" queried Pinkey. "Say - that's neat! You're right, Ondrey: he's one guy that oughtn't to

  be kept waiting. Come on you lugs" - Pinkey turned to his other companions -

  "we're moving out -"

  Slick was nearest to the wall behind Ondrey's desk. He pressed the edge of

  a panel; the woodwork slid apart to reveal a tiny elevator. The three men entered it; Slick was about to close the secret door when Pinkey stopped him.

  "Listen, Ondrey," remarked Pinkey, "we're going back to the hide-out. I got a phone there, but there's some calls I'd rather make from here -"

  "You mean to Maude Revelle?"

  "Yeah. So you call her for me. Tell her I'll meet her at the usual place an hour from now. That'll give you time to talk to this Cranston guy, first."

  Ondrey nodded. Mention of Cranston reminded him that he didn't want to keep the visitor waiting. He reached for the telephone, gave the order to usher

  Mr. Cranston into the office. While Ondrey was doing that, Slick closed the elevator door.

  Ondrey prided himself on that secret elevator. It was slow in operation, because it was designed for silence. There wasn't the slightest rumble from the

  hidden shaft; nor even the vibration of a cable as the elevator made its ascent.

  Ondrey stepped to the office door. He opened it to see Cranston coming through the passage from the night club.

  A few moments later, Ondrey was bowing a hawk-faced visitor to a seat in front of the desk. Reaching into a drawer, the night club owner brought out a box of very special cigars, finer even than the brand that Bugs liked to smoke.

  It was while Ondrey was bent above the desk drawer that Cranston's ears caught a distant sound, so slight that Ondrey did not notice it. That noise was

  the muffled clang of an elevator door, closing, somewhere, a few floors above.

  With the sound, Cranston's eyes went instinctively to the paneled wall behind Ondrey. There, his keen eyes picked a vertical line in the ornament woodwork. Gauging sight with sound, Cranston had the answer. He knew that Ondrey had talked with at least one visitor tonight.

  More than that, Lamont Cranston could name the man who had departed. He was sure that Ondrey's principal visitor had been the lone-wolf racketeer, Pinkey Findlen.

  For behind the masklike countenance of the supposed Lamont Cranston lay the brain of The Shadow!

  CHAPTER VII

  THE MEETING PLACE

  IT required only ten minutes for Lamont Cranston to make arrangements for a banquet to be held at the Bubble Club. He named the date as ten days in the future; and Claude Ondrey was more than pleased to learn that Cranston intended

  to invite the police commissioner to the affair.

  That was the sort of news that Ondrey knew would go over well with Pinkey Findlen.

  However, Ondrey's beaming smile began to fade, when Cranston continued the

  discussion further. For some reason he wanted to settle many matters, including

  such details as the banquet menu. Thus he prolonged his interview with Ondrey until nearly half an hour had passed.

  During the first ten minutes, The Shadow sensed that Ondrey had something on his mind. He foresaw that subtle stalling tactics might reveal more; and the

  system worked.

  Toward the end of the half hour, Ondrey's fingers were itching to get at the telephone; and his constant glances in that direction flashed the fact that

  he had an important call to make. Ondrey was at last relieved to see Cranston arise, ready for a leisurely departure. Ondrey bowed the visitor out to the night club; then, after a quick handshake, the portly man hurried back to the office.

  Ondrey would have been startled had he taken time to look over his own shoulder.

  Idly, Cranston turned about, as if he had forgotten something in the office. His easy action attracted no attention from the waiters. But once he was within the little passage leading to the office, Cranston disappeared.

  In fact, as he stopped within a darkened corner of the passage, he seemed to draw blackness all about him.

  That phenomenon was explained by the fact that The Shadow had planted his cloak and hat in that particular corner. He had entered the night club by a side door, carrying the garments over his arm. Starting first for Ondrey's office, he had left his garb in that convenient spot; then had stepped into the

  night club to find someone who would announce his arrival to Ondrey.

  CLOAKED in black, The Shadow made quick strides to the office. The door was unlocked, as he expected, for Ondrey hadn't wasted time in getting to the telephone. The night club owner had just managed to get his number, when The Shadow peered in upon him.

  Through the crack of the door, The Shadow could see Ondrey at the desk; and every word that the man uttered was plain.

  "Hello... That you, Maude?" Ondrey was smiling when he recognized the voice. "Yes, this is Ondrey... Yes, Pinkey was here; but he didn't have time to

  call you... Yes. He'll meet you. At the usual place..."

  There must have been a flow of talk across the wire, for Ondrey fidgeted for the next two minutes. At moments, he opened his mouth as if to say something; but he couldn't manage to insert a word. When his chance finally came, Ondrey spoke pleadingly.

  "Don't be angry, Maude," he insisted. "It was actually my fault that you weren't called sooner... I know you don't like The Hayrick, but it's one of the

  few places where Pinkey can go...

  "Here? Certainly he comes here; but he always stays in the office... No, he never goes into the night club... No, it wouldn't be safe. At least, that's what he says. Pinkey's supposed to be on the lam...

  "You'll meet him? That's good! But you'd better hurry... Yes, he'll be at The Hayrick within the next half hour..."

  The call finished, Ondrey mopped his forehead, shaking his head as if in testimony that the ways of women baffled him. He came out to the night club proper. Ondrey saw no sign of The Shadow in the passage.

  The cloaked intruder had stepped to that blackened corner where he had formerly placed his cloak and hat.

  Moving into Ondrey's office, The Shadow, began a rapid search of the desk.

  He found nothing in the way of evidence that linked Ondrey with Pinkey Findlen.

  In fact, The Shadow wasn't at all certain that Ondrey knew the details of Pinkey's present racket. The only way to settle that point would be to accost Ondrey and question him. But with the chances to the contrary, it was preferable to leave Ondrey alone, particularly because he might prove useful later.

  Moreover, The Shadow saw an excellent chance to meet Pinkey himself, when the racketeer reached The Hayrick. Mention of the place by name was all that The Shadow had needed. The Hayrick was well-known as a nightclub in Greenwich Village.

  FINISHING his short search of Ondrey's desk, The Shadow tried the paneled wall. He found the hidden catch, opened the panel and looked into the elevator shaft. There he saw a s
witch and pressed it to bring the car downward.

  The elevator hadn't quite reached the bottom, when The Shadow heard muffled footsteps beyond the door of Ondrey's office. He waited coolly, calculating that the car might arrive before Ondrey entered. It did.

  The Shadow was aboard and closing the panel when Ondrey opened the office door. He caught a glimpse of the portly man speaking to someone in the hall.

  The panel went shut while Ondrey was turning about. The fellow did not notice its motion.

  This time the silence of Ondrey's private elevator worked against its owner. The Shadow made the slow trip to the top of the shaft. He found himself in the deserted fourth floor of a building that had once been a private residence.

  There was a door that led into an adjoining house; it was probably the route used by Pinkey and other secret visitors. There was another exit, however, that pleased The Shadow better.

  It was a fire escape outside the window at the end of the hall. It had a metal ladder leading to the roof, and The Shadow raised his head above the edge, to learn facts for future reference.

  One thing that he saw was a trapdoor that evidently topped the hidden elevator shaft. That was something that could prove useful later. His inspection finished, The Shadow descended by the fire escape.

  TWENTY minutes later, The Shadow was in Greenwich Village; near an alleyway that afforded entrance of the side door of The Hayrick. Looking along the street, he saw a man loafing near the corner; another, shambling along in aimless fashion.

  These were agents of The Shadow. He had summoned them through a short wave

  radio call to Burbank. With his agents on the watch, The Shadow could later receive reports on any outside developments.

  Entering the side door, The Shadow stopped for a view of The Hayrick.

  The place formed one big barnlike raftered room, with the stacks of hay around the sides. There were about forty tables, half of them occupied by customers. In the center was a dance floor; an orchestra dressed as farm hands occupied the far end of the room.

  To his right, The Shadow saw a little stairway that led up to a gloomy balcony. Beyond the rail were the doors of small private dining rooms, which explained why Pinkey had chosen to meet Maude here. By using the side door, Pinkey could reach one of those little rooms unnoticed by the patrons on the main floor.

  The Shadow took the stairway to the balcony. He entered the first empty room and closed the door behind him. Using a tiny flashlight, he decided that this room was probably unused, for its table and chair were stacked in a corner.

  There was a connecting door next to the little room. It was locked, but The Shadow opened it with a skeleton key. Again he found a little-used room; so

  he took another door into the third room in the row. There, the gleam of his flashlight showed a table set for two.

  Positive that this was where Pinkey intended to dine with Maude, The Shadow approached the table, his flashlight cleaving a path before him. He hadn't taken five steps, before there was a click from beside the partly closed

  door that led to the balcony passage.

  The room was filled with light. Just inside the doorway stood a striking blonde, whose large blue eyes were fixed upon the center of the room. The girl was Maude Revelle.

  She wasn't the type that The Shadow expected her to be. She was attractively attired in a black velvet evening gown that sparkled with a line of small rhinestones from neck to hem. That decoration was tasteful; quite different from the cheap finery worn by the usual racketeer's moll.

  There wasn't any question, though, regarding Maude's identity. She recognized The Shadow when she saw him, and the sudden narrowing of her eyes told that she knew him to be the arch-foe of crooks like Pinkey Findlen.

  Whatever else happened, Maude intended to make sure that Pinkey didn't walk into a surprise meeting with The Shadow in this room.

  Nervily, the girl ignored the gun that The Shadow whipped from his cloak.

  Yanking the door fully open, she made a dive to the balcony, at an angle which took her from The Shadow's range. As she went, Maude delivered a long warning scream. The Shadow reached the same doorway, hoping that his arrival would cause the girl to end her tactics. His move proved a bad one. Hardly had he leaped out to the balcony, when someone turned on another string of lights.

  Those bulbs glimmered along the balcony, revealing The Shadow where he stood. Tough faces bobbed suddenly among the patrons of The Hayrick, while quick fists went for guns. As The Shadow wheeled to find cover, he faced along the balcony toward the stairs. There, he saw another menace. On the steps stood

  Pinkey Findlen, revolver gleaming from his lifting fist.

  Luck had reversed the trap. Pinkey had attained an advantage over The Shadow!

  CHAPTER VIII

  MAUDE FINDS A FRIEND

  THE next two seconds provided The Shadow with one of the tightest pinches in his long career. By all the laws of ordinary chance, that interval should have produced his doom. This predicament, however, was the sort that urged The Shadow to extraordinary measures. In the emergency, he took a long-shot method.

  The Shadow didn't halt to beat Pinkey in a gun duel. That would have been suicidal, with other revolvers coming up to aim. Nor did he wheel away to make himself a more difficult target. That would have worked with the more distant crooks, but not with Pinkey.

  The Shadow took the one direction that offered sure surprise. He drove straight for the spot where Pinkey awaited him. By the very swiftness of his lunge, he accomplished the unexpected. He arrived by the time that Pinkey's gun

  was leveled at him.

  Not Pinkey; but the rising gun muzzle, was The Shadow's focal point. At the last instant, he gave a twist that preceded the blast of Pinkey's gun. The bullet scorched through The Shadow's cloak, so close to his body that Pinkey thought he had scored a hit.

  Pinkey's triumphant shout made others believe the same. So did The Shadow's own course. He didn't slacken as he reached the steps.

  Shoulder-first,

  he took a plunge straight downward. To the enemy, that topple indicated that Pinkey's shot had reached The Shadow.

  Even Pinky didn't realize that The Shadow's fall would be broken. It was Pinkey, himself, who became the buffer when the black-clad fighter hit his shoulder first. The two went rolling down the steps together; and with the finish of Pinkey's raucous shout came the sudden burst of The Shadow's mocking laugh.

  A gun blow settled Pinkey for a while to come. That stroke was swung for the racketeer's skull; through sheer luck, Pinkey partly warded it, with upraised arm. He flattened, groggy at the bottom of the steps, and The Shadow promptly forgot him, to wage battle with others. They were coming across the floor - half a dozen mobbies planted here by "Bugs" Hopton, Pinkey's strong-arm

  crew leader. They expected victory through that rush; instead they put themselves in trouble. By deserting the tables, they came clear of innocent patrons. That give The Shadow full opportunity to fire.

  Two automatics in his fists, the black-cloaked battler sent shots through the stairway rail. Crooks began to spill; their fire was belated when they tried to return flying lead.

  Two of them reached the balcony, jumped up, and hauled themselves over its

  high rail. Maude was in their path, trying to stop the conflict; they hurled the

  girl aside and started for The Shadow.

  He was up the steps to meet them.

  Instead of wasting bullets that might be needed, he came like a living avalanche, before the pair could aim. The foremost thug took a hard stroke on the head; his companion made a desperate grapple with The Shadow.

  Bold patrons who peeked from beneath tables saw a mass of blackness heave upward, hoisting a struggling thug above. The crook took a long, sprawly dive over the balcony rail; the jolt that the floor gave him left him senseless.

  BY this time, new fighters had arrived.

  Bugs Hopton and a trio of picked gorillas had dashed in through the
side entrance. They aimed for The Shadow as they snatched up Pinkey, to haul the big-shot out of danger. Guns spoke anew, The Shadow's quick shots hurrying the crooks in their aim.

  Amid that preliminary barrage, a new attack came from the side door. The Shadow's agents had closed in, to surprise Bugs and his crew with a rear attack.

  Mobsters turned, hoping to reach the door. Into the melee came a batch of waiters, thinking that they could drive out the trouble-makers.

  The Shadow waited, watching the struggle. He couldn't risk shots at the moment; he was depending upon his agents to handle themselves in their usual competent style. Probably they would have done so, if the waiters hadn't mixed in it. As it was, the fight became a free-for-all.

  Bugs and two pals dragged Pinkey out through the side door, the brawling figures shielding them against The Shadow's aim. That get-away made the waiters

  realize that the real trouble-makers were in flight.

  They took up the chase, out through the alleyway, leaving The Shadow's agents in control, with one man of Bugs Hopton's crew lying limp and helpless.

  The Shadow saw that further pursuit would be useless. Bugs had managed an escape, and had taken Pinkey with him. Probably they had a waiting car in readiness.

  It was time for The Shadow to make his own departure, taking his agents with him; and the best route would be through a window of one of the little dining rooms. That was why The Shadow's sibilant tone gave quick command for his agents to join him on the balcony.

  As they arrived, The Shadow observed a forgotten figure. Maude Revelle lay

  dazed upon the floor. The Shadow told the agents to take her with them, and added brief instructions. They hurried through a little room, just as a squad of police arrived at the front entrance to The Hayrick.

  The officers saw The Shadow fading into a doorway. They shouted for him to

  halt, and followed the order with a rapid volley. Those shots were wide of their

  mark. With their echoes came the trailing tone of The Shadow's parting laugh.

  OUTSIDE The Hayrick, Pinkey and his carriers had vanished. Police whistles