He had seen Fellows that afternoon, three days ago. Since then, no word whatever, until this letter that
had arrived to-day.
He had been utterly unable to locate Bruce Duncan since. He had also called the Hotel Paragon a dozen
times, and had asked for Arlette DeLand. She had not been there.
So far, Harry was entirely in the dark regarding any unusual events which might be transpiring.
He had received no explanation regarding the episode at the Pink Rat. He only knew that The Shadow
had rescued him.
Perhaps his coming interview with Claude Fellows would carry some enlightenment.
'Some one may be following you'—that statement had appeared in the note from the insurance broker.
With two hours ahead of him, Harry would have plenty of opportunity to shake the man off his tracks.
He glanced toward the pillar, and made a quick inspection of the individual in the chair. He was a
clever-looking chap, who was apparently paying no attention to what was going on about him.
Harry smiled. Here was an excellent opportunity for a get-away. The paper which he had tossed in the
wastebasket was bait.
Harry strolled across the lobby, and entered the dining room. He was sure that the man would wait until
he was gone; and would then obtain the letter that had been thrown away.
There was a street entrance to the dining room. Harry walked straight through, reached the street, and
hailed a cab. A few minutes later he was riding along Broadway.
PICTURING himself in the other man's place, Harry was positive that his tracker would have preferred
obtaining the letter to following him into the dining room, especially as it was lunch time. There was only
one danger: that the man might have a companion. So Harry occupied his time with a series of maneuvers
that would have thrown the most skillful sleuth from his trail.
He left the taxicab, walked half a block, and took another cab in the opposite direction. He left that cab
in the middle of a block, and walked slowly along the street toward an elevated station, loitering
occasionally.
Seeing an elevated train approaching from a distance, Harry made a mad dash for the steps. He mounted
them two at a time, and caught the train just before the guard closed the gates.
He smiled at the effectiveness of the trick. He was the last person on the train; if another man had
followed him up the steps, he would have betrayed himself.
Harry alighted a few stations up the line, and had lunch in a restaurant on a side street. Then he called a
cab, and went directly to the Grandville Building.
It was shortly before three o'clock when he arrived at the office of Claude Fellows, on the fifteenth floor.
He was ushered into the inner office.
Fellows was unusually congenial. He seemed satisfied with something that he had accomplished. He fairly
beamed upon Harry.
'I have a job for you,' he said.
'That's welcome news,' replied Harry.
Fellows read from a sheet of paper.
'Remember this?' he said. 'Professor Arthur Whitburn. Lake Marrinack, Connecticut. He wants a young
man—single—college graduate—to assist him in some experimental work. He was greatly pleased with
the letter which you wrote him.'
'Which I wrote him?'
'I attended to that detail for you. I added a letter of recommendation from one of the officials of the
Vesuvius Insurance Company. Mr. James Stohlmeyer, one of the vice presidents, had some very nice
things to say about you.'
'Did you write that letter, too?' asked Harry, in admiration of the insurance broker's versatility.
'No,' replied Fellows, with a smile. 'Mr. Stohlmeyer sent the letter himself, at my suggestion by long
distance. He had never met you, but he knows me well, and he accepted my statement that you were a
reliable young man.'
'The Vesuvius Company is located in Connecticut, isn't it?' asked Harry.
'Yes,' answered Fellows. 'That's why a recommendation from that quarter was of value.'
'When shall I leave for Lake Marrinack?'
'Early to-morrow morning. Your car is ready at the garage on Long Island. You can take the ferry
across the Sound to Bridgeport.
'Report to Professor Whitburn in the afternoon. Remember that you are acquainted with Mr. Stohlmeyer
of the Vesuvius Insurance Company.'
Fellows handed Harry a newspaper clipping.
'This is the advertisement you answered,' he explained.
HARRY grinned. This was interesting. He had obtained a job by proxy, and had probably been selected
in preference to a great number of applicants.
'I wonder,' he said, 'what Professor Whitburn is doing in the way of experiments.'
'That is for you to discover,' said Fellows, folding his hands and leaning back in his chair. 'I have been
instructed to find out as much as possible regarding a man named Whitburn, and to see that he is
protected against danger. You have been delegated to the mission.
'You, yourself, are in some danger. You may have suspected that from the note which I sent you this
afternoon. If this man is the Whitburn who I believe he is—namely, the one who is in danger—you will
have plenty of action ahead of you.
'If he is not the Whitburn whom I have been instructed to protect, you will be out of danger
entirely—provided, of course, that you use discretion, and are not followed to Lake Marrinack.
'For if you are in the wrong place, and your presence there is not known, you will be quite safe.'
'I prefer danger to inaction,' remarked Harry.
'Every man to his choice,' said Fellows, with a smile. 'For my part, I prefer inaction to danger. But we
get a taste of both, in this business; and we have to take whichever comes along.'
Harry nodded in agreement.
'It may be difficult to communicate with us from Lake Marrinack,' observed Claude Fellows. 'Your car
carries its usual radio equipment. But you may not have a chance to use it.
'If necessary, write a letter, and send it to me; but be careful. A long distance call—only in case of
absolute necessity. You have my home phone number. But on this trip, you may receive assistance. A
messenger may come to see you.'
'How shall I know him?'
'When he first speaks to you, he will glance at his watch. He will appear to note that the time is wrong.
He will ask you the correct time; he will set his watch five minutes in advance of yours.'
Harry waited silently for further instructions.
'Tune in on Station WNX at six and nine—if a radio set is available, and you find it possible. Notify me if
you are able to do that, when you send your first report. It may prove valuable later on.
'Find out all you can about Professor Whitburn. Study the personnel of his establishment. Learn who is
there, and why they are there. You have a real job ahead of you.'
HARRY made mental notes of all that Fellows had told him. Some of his instructions were familiar
because of his previous work in the service of The Shadow.
'Have you seen Bruce Duncan?' questioned the insurance broker. 'That is, since the day when you had
lunch with him?'
