which the true Legira had received ten million-dollars.
He had saved Perry Wallace, the false Legira, from the trouble of answering pointed questions, and had
rescued him from death at the hands of Lopez. More than that, he had obtained, for Cardona, finger
prints of the false and not the true Legira.
Besides, The Shadow had changed the time element in the murder, thus taking the last vestige of
suspicion from Legira; and to even matters, he had trailed the real consul to his secret retreat.
The hand of The Shadow was working stealthily to-night. Its purpose was mysterious. Even Joe
Cardona, the only detective on the New York force who had ever encountered The Shadow in person,
did not suspect the work of the man in black.
Now, while Cardona pondered, The Shadow had gone on some new mission. His work was not yet
ended. Cardona did not know that he was thinking of The Shadow. Yet he was, for he was thinking of
Lamont Cranston.
Alone in the room of death, the detective was still staring at those finger prints and to his mind came the
chance remark that Cranston had uttered when Cardona had expressed the wish that he might obtain the
finger prints of the murderer.
“Perhaps you will,” Cranston had said.
Actually, it was The Shadow who had spoken. Whenever The Shadow spoke, his words were
significant.
The words of The Shadow were often prophetic.
CHAPTER XVII. THE SHADOW'S PLANS
A LIGHT clicked in a darkened room. The glow of a lamp spread its circular spot upon a table top.
White hands appeared beneath the glare. The Shadow was in his sanctuary.
The hands worked with pencil and paper. They were jotting down cryptic notations and important items.
These were legible only to the man who wrote them.
A column of figures took on the appearance of a time-table. Events were being scheduled with accuracy.
The hand paused, leaving its work but partly done. A mouthpiece and a set of earphones came into the
light; then disappeared in the gloom. The voice of The Shadow spoke.
“Burbank.”
A pause. Then:
“Report in detail—”
The hand worked as the ears listened. More figures appeared in the tabulations. Then came an inquiry
from The Shadow.
“Ballou?”
A voice clicked through the earphones. It asked a question.
“Report,” answered The Shadow, “as soon as Vincent tells you he has left the Hotel Oriental.”
A piece of paper dropped upon the table. It was the sheet that Perry Wallace had given to The Shadow.
It bore the words:
Pete Ballou—Hotel Oriental.
This address had evidently been given to Burbank by The Shadow when the man in black had held that
brief conversation over the phone in Legira's home.
“Important instructions later,” spoke the whispered voice of The Shadow. “Stand ready.”
The earphones and mouthpiece were laid aside. From the tabulations, The Shadow's hands began to
form brief charts. One of these referred to Pete Ballou and his men.
7.48—entered Legira's.
8.04—left Legira's. Received word of Powell's departure at 7.56. Powell followed by Dowdy. Ballou
