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 Washington 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 steamship 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.

First, the door did not open as he expected. The latch had partly engaged, despite the wadding. Toyne's thump had been a bit too emphatic. The Shadow had a cure for the door's obstinacy.

He knew that a hard shoulder jolt would loosen the trifling catch; but he had to wait a while before he delivered such treatment. He wanted Toyne and Bryland to be down the stairway; otherwise they would hear the door pound open.

That delay produced new trouble.

As The Shadow pressed his shoulder against the door, he heard a sound from the reception room. Whipping about, The Shadow swung to his darkened corner.

He was just too late. An arriving man had seen him.

The fellow was Jarruth, The Shadow's old adversary. Creelon had remembered something that he wanted to tell Toyne. He had sent Jarruth to overtake the secretary.

Others of Creelon's men might have jumped back from The Shadow's view.

Not Jarruth; he had a score to settle. Moreover, the scar-faced jailer remembered The Shadow as a sluggish fighter. That had been due to the hashish treatment;but Jarruth, overproud of his own ability, had underestimated the effect of the drug.

Hauling a new revolver from his pocket, Jarruth came forward with a roar.

He intended to slug The Shadow, if he reached him in time. In a pinch, he could shoot the cloaked intruder.

The Shadow could easily have dropped Jarruth in his tracks; but that would have sounded an alarm too soon. The Shadow's purpose was still to trail Bryland.

He took the best way to accomplish it.

SWINGING suddenly toward Jarruth, The Shadow performed a rapid whirl-about that made the husky gape. Stopping in confusion at sight of The Shadow's drive, Jarruth tried to take aim. The Shadow left him flatfooted.

The Shadow's charge became another dervish spin. Diving away from Jarruth, The Shadow hurtled hard for the heavy door at the pa.s.sage end; hit the barrier squarely with his shoulder.

The door rammed open. As it swung, The Shadow stopped short; flourished an automatic muzzle in Jarruth's direction. The husky dodged clumsily; so badly that The Shadow could easily have clipped him.

Again, however, The Shadow saw no need to fire. He thrust his free hand to the socket of the door latch. His quick fingers tugged out the wadding.

In that move, The Shadow lost a half second; for the wadded bill was tight. When he freed it, Jarruth's awkward dive had ended. The fellow was taking aim again, too late; but he was moving forward.

The Shadow was through the doorway, slamming the barrier shut. Jarruth hit the door like a charging bull, rammed it open before the latch could snap home.

That meant battle for The Shadow.

Turned about, The Shadow caught Jarruth as he came through and swung hard for the fellow's skull. Jarruth's head bobbed luckily; he jammed his revolver muzzle for The Shadow.

With a side sweep, The Shadow hit the gun away, just as Jarruth fired.

The revolver report raised booming echoes down the stairway.

The fighters locked, as Jarruth tried to ram The Shadow down the steps.

The Shadow suddenly gave ground; caught Jarruth with a hard clutch. Together, they went headlong, crashing down the stairway to the bottom.

The Shadow took a risk in that long plunge; but the odds were definitely in his favor. Jarruth's weight, coupled with the clumsy power of his charge, were factors on which The Shadow counted.

Jarruth took the brunt of the landing at the bottom. His head and shoulders plowed hard against the wall below the steps. The Shadow's fall was broken; nevertheless, he was momentarily jarred as he flattened beneath Jarruth's settling bulk.

THE quick battle had ended in a surprising lull. Two figures lay motionless in the gloom. The only sounds that reached the spot were the strains of the "Blue Danube Waltz," supplied by the distant orchestra in the emba.s.syballroom.

The melody was interrupted by a clatter above. Men had reached the top of the stairs. Creelon was there with a squad of fighters. A flashlight beamed downward. It showed Jarruth's form moving upward, as though rising under its own power.

Creelon stepped back, thinking that all was well. A sharp cry sounded from one of his followers. The man, still staring downward, saw Jarruth roll aside.

Gaping incredibly, the fellow spied The Shadow.

The cry was an alarm. Creelon, ready for anything, knew that Jarruth must have met The Shadow. The spy snarled an order. His men sprang forward to deliver death below.

The bars of the "Blue Danube" were interrupted by the staccato burst of The Shadow's automatic. Tonguing its flame upward, the .45 marked the closest of Creelon's henchman, the man with the light. That attacker sprawled. The flashlight left his hand and clattered down the steps, smashing its bulb on the way.

There was still light on the stairway, however. The Shadow's guns supplied it.

On his feet, handling a brace of automatics, The Shadow was loosing a direct barrage for the stair top. Only the spurting mouths of his guns were targets; they were the sort that Creelon's huskies did not want. While the master-spy cursed and threatened, his men dived back to join him in the safety of the upper pa.s.sage.

The Shadow had gained the respite that he wanted, to take up Bryland's trail. Success on that mission depended upon how far Bryland had already traveled. It chanced that Bryland was still close at hand, as The Shadow learned immediately.

Another flashlight glimmered from the lower corridor. The gleam was Bryland's. He had stopped his departure. Focusing his light back to the bottom of the stairs, Bryland saw The Shadow and took prompt aim with a revolver.

It was partly Bryland's momentary amazement; partly the confidence that the ex-major gained, that served The Shadow in this crisis. Bryland was first astonished when he saw The Shadow alive; then sure of himself, when he believed that the cloaked battler was trapped.

Bryland's aim was as deliberate as if the ex-major had chosen target practice. He was set to drop The Shadow forever, with one straight shot.

The Shadow never looked toward Bryland. The gleam of the flashlight was all the warning that he needed. Diving as Bryland aimed, The Shadow flattened himself upon the stairway, past its corner. He was choosing the one spot that offered immediate security, thanks to the lull of gunfire from above.

Bryland fired. His shot was too late. Savagely, the NEC thief stabbed further bullets. They clipped the corner, but could not curve past it. An automatic spoke a sudden answer below the level of Bryland's fire. A bullet whistled past the crook's shoulder.

It was Bryland who was becoming the target; not The Shadow. Turning off his flashlight, the crook dived away. He was leaving The Shadow to Creelon and those above.

THE men upstairs realized their opportunity, for they had heard the blasts of Bryland's flank fire. Marksmen sprang to the stairs, aimed downward and fired savagely into the lower darkness. They waited, expecting groans from below.

Instead, they heard the mocking challenge of a trailing, fading laugh.

The Shadow had followed Bryland at the moment the barrage began. The onlyresult that crooks had gained was the death of Jarruth. The stunned man had been riddled by the bullets from the guns of his fellows.

Hard on the trail of Bryland, The Shadow could hear the clatter of pursuers coming down the stairs. Reaching the pa.s.sage that led to the side door, The Shadow doubted that Bryland had taken it. That pa.s.sage was too long.

Preferably, Bryland would have slid through to the main portion of the emba.s.sy, where Toyne awaited him. The Shadow headed in that direction.

The door swung open in front of him. A burst of music came with a loud swell. Ahead, The Shadow was blocked by a trio of attaches who had been summoned by Toyne. Their purpose was to drive The Shadow back, into the hands of Creelon's men.

Pounding with his automatics, The Shadow went through the cl.u.s.ter. He came out by the cloak room, with men clinging to his shoulders. Another batch of legation men piled upon him; clinched his arms and tried to heave him back into the pa.s.sage. Some in evening clothes, others in uniform; all had arrived with spectacular swiftness at Toyne's summons.