with Legira's message from the Cordova.
The Shadow's keen brain was seeking the answer. Then, from his hidden lips came a low, shuddering
laugh, no louder than a whisper. His hand gripped the receiver of the telephone.
Before he could lift it, the bell began to ring. The dingle lasted less than the fraction of a second. So
quickly did The Shadow raise the receiver that the sound could not possibly have reached Lopez, below.
Burbank's voice came over the wire in response to The Shadow's query. Just as The Shadow had been
about to call his agent, Burbank himself had put in the call.
“Preparations,” announced Burbank. “Observation from window.”
“Wait reply,” answered The Shadow.
Quickly, the man in the black cloak jiggled the hook and called the Hotel Oriental. He asked to be
connected with Pete Ballou. He was informed that the man had left a while before.
The Shadow hung up the phone. He stepped to the window. The black hands held a tiny box, from
which they produced two small pills. The Shadow pushed these between the shutter.
In the darkness, these tiny objects made tiny spots of light as they fell. They were visible to Burbank,
staring from the other house. The Shadow had used this method of signaling to accomplish results more
rapidly than by a phone call.
Perry Wallace, despite his desire for further sleep, managed to look on with interest. The Shadow was
back at the telephone, his hand upon the hook. Tense minutes went by. Again the beginning of a ring—
quickly interrupted.
The Shadow raised the receiver and spoke. He heard the voice of Burbank once more.
“Signal witnessed. Order obeyed.”
“Cardona answered?” questioned The Shadow.
“Yes,” was the reply. “Gave him emergency instructions.”
“Good.” The Shadow's tone denoted satisfaction. “Guard window for emergency.”
The tall form of The Shadow stalked the room. Perry Wallace was mystified. He could not understand
these happenings. Little did he realize that the house was surrounded by a horde of gangsters, waiting for
a signal to attack.
The word ordered by The Shadow was a summons to Cardona. The man in black had planned to let the
police take care of Pete Ballou. His mission lay elsewhere to-night. But with these altered circumstances,
he was waiting, to give Cardona and his squad time to arrive.
A SUDDEN explosion shook the front of the house! The room trembled. Perry Wallace swayed dizzily
in his chair. The Shadow, untroubled, stood alert. Then came wild shouts from below.
Pete Ballou had arrived! He had ordered the attack. Determined not to be delayed in their swift stroke,
the thugs had planted a bomb against the front door, to blow it from its fastenings!
The Shadow headed for the top of the stairs. Shots sounded from below. Lopez, his snarling face turned
upward, was dashing up the steps.
Had the man continued his flight, he might have reached a place of safety. But even as The Shadow
watched, Lopez turned and flashed a revolver. He shot back at his pursuers. A burst of firing followed.
Lopez sprawled dead upon the steps.
The triumphant cry of Pete Ballou sounded from below. He was urging his cohorts onward. He believed
that the real Alvarez Legira was in this house. Rodriguez Zelva had not informed him otherwise.
“Get up in a hurry!” was Ballou's shout. “We got one of them. Get the other!”
Three mobsters came piling over the body of Lopez. They reached the turn in the steps. One of
