obtained in the room of the death. His first comparison showed marked similarity between those records
and the prints on the sheet of newspaper. Cardona leaped to his feet. He started toward Klein's office;
then suddenly changed his mind and returned to the desk.
Who had sent this sheet of paper?
Cardona was reflective. He realized that it would be best for him to maintain silence for the present. To
make a furor about this new bit of evidence would be a grave mistake. He had no clew to the sender. He
knew only that some one had voluntarily sought to give him aid. Who could that some one be?
Had Joe Cardona been an ordinary detective, his mind would have reverted immediately to Lamont
Cranston. But Cardona's experiences had been unique in the past; and this new event bore a marked
resemblance to others that had occurred before.
This was not the first time that Cardona had been the recipient of unusual clews. Whenever he received
live tips from an anonymous source, it was Cardona's policy to connect them definitely with one name.
The Shadow!
To Joe Cardona, that mysterious personage was a real, living figure. At times, when unsolved crimes had
thwarted the detective, he had received unexpected word from an unknown source. He was convinced
that such messages came from The Shadow.
On certain occasions, Cardona had actually encountered a strange figure clad in black—a man who
seemingly had the power to materialize himself from nowhere and to vanish into the shrouded atmosphere
of night.
Others had heard of The Shadow. Cardona had heard from him. Others told of those who had seen him.
Cardona was one who had actually seen The Shadow. Others had spoken of the vengeance which The
Shadow wreaked upon evildoers. Cardona had watched the hand of The Shadow deal death to fiends of
the underworld.
WITH keen, inquisitive eyes, the detective scanned the piece of newspaper. No message had
accompanied it. An inspection showed the envelope to be empty.
Again, Cardona examined the finger prints. Then he noticed three tiny dots upon a word that appeared in
one of the columns. Looking closely, he saw other dots. They evidently indicated certain words.
Seizing a pencil, Cardona began to write down each word that was thus marked.
The result was a jargon of a dozen words that read as follows:
wanted take plan man for to before wait giving noon word sure
Cardona puzzled over this jumbled message. He began another examination of the printed words.
He noted that one was marked with a small, single dot; another with two; then three; then four. Next
came a series of dots that were slightly larger; then some that had tails like commas; finally, reversed
commas.
Following this key, Cardona suddenly hit upon the correct order. He wrote this message:
Wait for word before noon giving sure plan to take wanted man.
The detective glanced at his watch. It showed eleven o'clock. Impatiently, Cardona arose and paced
back and forth across the office. He sensed the hand of The Shadow. He was positive that within an hour
he would receive further word.
Ten minutes went by. They were restless minutes for Joe Cardona. The telephone rang, Cardona sprang
to the desk. He was holding the receiver in his hand before the ringing ceased.
“Cardona speaking,” he said.
