didn’t tell you to come here so I could threaten you and save some money that way. You can use some cash, can’t you?”
“Absolutely and always. I’m pretty low. The poker pikers over at the inn have been paying my expenses without knowing it.”
“Well, here’s the story, Joyce. Let’s check it up to date. A pal of yours told you to stop at Holmwood Arms until you received a note telling you what to do. You received my instructions tonight; you met me as specified. Did you know I was the man you were to meet?”
“I half suspected it.”
“I thought so. Well, we are here, and the rest is easy for you. I picked you because you are an expert when it comes to solving codes.”
“I’ve done some good work in that line.”
“Well, I have a code that I want solved. It contains some information that is important to me. I am giving you a copy. Here it is.”
Harry could see Joyce lean forward to examine a paper by the light on the dashboard.
“All numbers,” remarked the gambler.
“Yes,” agreed Ezekiel Bingham. “Can you solve it?”
“I don’t know. Do you have the original?”
“It is in my safe at home, sealed in an envelope. The copy is exact.”
Joyce leaned back in the seat, and Harry could see him thrust the paper in his inside pocket.
“What do you make of it?” questioned the lawyer.
“Not much yet,” replied Joyce.
“Will it be easy to solve?”
“No.”
“How long will you require?”
“I can’t tell.”
“Why not?”
“Because it may simply be a key. If it’s a code, I’ll get it, no matter how clever it is. It may take me three or four days. I’ll use every possible method.”
“Suppose you don’t decipher it.”
“Then I’ll know it’s not a code.”
“What good will that do me?”
“Well, if it’s a key and not a code, I’ll compare it with all the systems that I have studied; and I have plenty of those. I’ll hit on some sort of a solution, I expect. I’ve never failed yet.”
“All right, Joyce. Remember, I rely on you. I want concentrated action until you complete the job.”
“I’ll start on it tomorrow morning.”
“Good. But remember - not a word to anyone. Absolute secrecy. That’s all I require. If you can gain any information from the message, forget it as soon as you have delivered the solution to me.”
“I promise you that.”
“Then keep your promise. I am friendly toward you, Joyce. I may use you again, to your advantage. Only remember that I have the upper hand; that my game is safe while yours is not. Nothing that I know will ever be used against you so long as you play square. Pay no attention whatever to any of my affairs; that is the safest course for you.”
“I agree with you, Mr. Bingham.”
There was the sound of paper crinkling. The old lawyer passed something to the other man.
“Six hundred dollars, Joyce,” Bingham. “It’s worth that to me. I’m paying you in advance. I want service with results as soon as possible.”
“How will I communicate with you?”
“Call my office and ask for an appointment.”
“Where shall I stay - at Holmwood Arms?”
“Not now. I wanted you close by until I was ready to see you. You can leave now - tomorrow some time. Choose a private spot where you can work - somewhere where your old cronies won’t find you.”
“All right, Mr. Bingham.”
The lawyer’s next words were drowned by the sound of the self-starter. Harry slipped away from the running board, and sought shelter behind a tree as the car pulled away. He walked back toward the inn, stopping only for a few seconds as Bingham’s car went by. It had gone down the road, had turned, and was now heading for the town.
During his walk, Harry tried to find some significance that concerned the message which Ezekiel Bingham wanted decoded. He decided that it was probably something that pertained to a case in court perhaps involving some criminal whom the lawyer was going to defend.
The episode that had just transpired explained Elbert Joyce’s lack of interest in the Laidlow murder. Obviously the man himself had no connection with the crime. But Ezekiel Bingham was involved as a witness, and the gambler had realized that the lawyer had summoned him to Holmwood. Hence he had been anxious to avoid any conversation that might bring up a discussion of Ezekiel Bingham.
Satisfaction and disappointment mingled in Harry’s mind. He had outwitted Joyce, to be sure. He had information of a very definite nature, concerning a man who was admittedly a crook. But he could make no connection between it and the crime which had been committed in the Laidlow home.
Still, the next step doubtless would be an immediate report to Mr. Claude H. Fellows.
Harry waited in the lounge until Elbert Joyce returned, a half an hour later. The gambler passed directly through the lobby, going upstairs to his room. He did not come down again.
As the evening continued, Vincent began to wonder what the code-expert was doing. Perhaps the six hundred dollars had spurred him on to immediate effort. Would it be advisable to drop in on Joyce and surprise him at his work?
This was an idea that led to other thoughts.
Harry Vincent went upstairs to his own room to plan a course of action. He could, of course, keep tracking Joyce after the man left Holmwood Arms. It would be ideal if he could gain possession of the code after Joyce had deciphered it.
Still it would be better if he could take the code from Joyce and carry it with him when he went to see Fellows. That would mean robbery, however, and Vincent did not relish the thought. So far, crime had been totally absent from the duties which he had been required to perform for The Shadow.
His mind wandered from his objective to thoughts of the purpose that had brought him to Holmwood. What did The Shadow want? What was his interest in the Laidlow affair? Was he a friend of the millionaire’s family or was he in league with the man behind the crime?
Was he working with the police or was he playing some strange game of his own?
These questions bothered Harry. They made him forget Joyce for a time. But eventually his thoughts returned to the man who had received the code from Ezekiel Bingham, and Harry was seized with an uncontrollable desire to get busy.
It was now nearly midnight. He left his room and went to the stairway. He descended to the third floor and tiptoed along the hall to the doorway of Elbert Joyce’s room. No light appeared beneath the door. Joyce, likely, was asleep.
Harry tapped lightly on the door. He tapped again - a trifle louder. He hoped that he would not awaken Joyce. He was but framing an excuse for the disturbance in case the man might come to the door.
But all was silent.
Slowly, Harry turned the knob. He was determined to enter the room, on the mere chance that he might find the message to be decoded lying somewhere accessible.
Harry could take it, copy it, and then return it. There was a real idea, Harry thought. It required care, to be sure, but would be worth the chance.
Within the room, Harry listened for the sound of Joyce’s breathing, but heard nothing. He moved across to the bed, and slowly laid his hand upon the covers. There was no one in the bed.
He walked to the wall and pressed the switch. The electric lights revealed an empty room. The bed was
