quite possible. First, that my findings are too unreal to be true; that I have told you all this merely to confuse you.
'Second, that I have spoken the absolute truth, but that I, too, am an agent of The Black Master - or, perhaps, the man himself.
'But both of those theories are incorrect. I am just what I claim to be - a man who through careful observation and good fortune has been able to uncover the machinations of a most desperate criminal -
The Black Master!'
Doctor Zerndorff watched Gage carefully. He seemed to be weighing the man's words. He nodded slowly.
'I believe you,' he said.
'But there is still one question in your mind,' added Gage.
Again Doctor Zerndorff nodded. He was amazed at the man's perceptiveness.
'I can tell you that question!' said Gage. 'You are wondering why I have come to you. Since I have done so well alone, why should I confide in you? That is what you are thinking, is it not?'
'I am thinking that, yes,' replied Zerndorff.
'I shall explain my purpose, then,' said Gage. 'For years, Doctor Zerndorff, I have battled with men of brains. I have employed my agents. Occasionally I have aided the police. But primarily I have played a lone hand.
'Now I am on the threshold of the greatest combat of my career. I am dealing with a man who is rightfully called The Master. I am sure that the three men who died in those explosions carried the tokens of their servitude to The Master. Yet he destroyed them utterly.
'Never before have I encountered one who was so regardless of human life - who would slaughter innocent victims simply to cover up the murders of three men whom he no longer trusted - or who were of no further use to him.
'As yet, The Black Master is nothing more than a mere name to me. Those through whom I could trace him are dead.
'I have been watching Hubert Banks for weeks. I knew that four men were plotting against him, but I have not yet found the one who dominated them. Now they are dead. I must start again to find new agents of this fiendish monster.'
He paused and dropped his cigar in an ash stand. He stared speculatively at the wall and Doctor Zerndorff watched him in admiration. Never before had the criminologist met a man of such amazing ability.
'Yes,' resumed Gage thoughtfully. 'I must begin again; and now I shall succeed - to a certain point. I shall meet The Black Master, face to face.
'He has thwarted me before, therefore, he must know of my existence! When I encounter him, it will be death - for one of us! I may be the one to die!
'That is why I have come to you. I still intend to work alone; but if I fail, there must be someone to carry on my labors.
'I was there the night that you saved Cardona's life, by shooting Killer Bryan. I fired the first shot; I crippled the Killer because I wanted him to be taken alive.
'Your action followed mine. It might have been too late, but it showed the ability which you possess.
There are only two men in New York whose knowledge of crime is sufficient to meet that of The Black Master. I am one! You are the other!'
There was no trace of egotism in Clifford Gage's voice. He was speaking as a man who is reciting facts, a calm, expressive tone. The significance of his words was fully understood by his companion.
'It is work for one man,' added Gage. 'One man, against The Black Master. One man, who can work alone. I shall be the man, at present.
'If I fail - the task is up to you. If you fail, New York will be at the mercy of a fiend who gloats over human misery - a demon who will stop at nothing and whose chief delight is death and destruction!'
He arose from his chair and Zerndorff also rose. The two men faced each other. The criminologist extended his hand. Clifford Gage clasped it sincerely.
'You understand?' he asked.
'I understand, yes,' replied Doctor Zerndorff.
'I can rely on you?'
'To the end, yes!'
Gage turned away and walked to the door. Again he faced Zerndorff and delivered his parting words.
'I shall come here again,' he said, 'if I remain alive. Should I fail to return - the work is yours!'
Doctor Zerndorff bowed. The two men stood silent. Clifford Gage was motionless. His long, unmoving shadow lay across the floor like a creature of the blackest night.
Then, suddenly and silently, he left the room.
Doctor Zerndorff remained standing in deep thought after his visitor had departed. His mighty brain was pondering over the revelations that Clifford Gage had made.
Not for one instant did he doubt the true identity of the man who had come to see him. He knew that Clifford Gage was the man who had appeared as Henry Arnaud. He knew, also, that the man was The Shadow!
'It is strange, yes,' mused Doctor Zerndorff, half aloud. 'There is no other like him, this man they call The Shadow. Unless' - he stared from the window at the blackness of the building opposite - 'unless it is this one of which he has told me.
'So he is gone, this man they call The Shadow. He is gone, to seek the man that is his enemy! My brain can see the future' - he tapped his forehead - 'and it tells me that they shall meet.
'Yes, they shall meet! This man they call The Shadow - he shall meet The Black Master!'
CHAPTER XIII. HARRY OBSERVES
HARRY VINCENT sat in the huge, gloomy living room of Hubert Banks' palatial home. He puffed a cigar contentedly. His eyes wandering across the room to a large couch, where the millionaire was lying, asleep.
Harry smiled. Banks had improved tremendously since Harry had come to visit him. The man had been a nervous wreck less than a week ago. Now he was calm and almost free from care - his old self.
Of all the missions that Harry had undertaken for The Shadow, this was the most unusual. His mind went back over the recent past and he began to recall all the important incidents that had occurred.
He had reported everything to The Shadow, in brief, terse notes. He had remembered the details.
That was one of the many things that he had learned to do since he had become The Shadow's agent. He had been instructed in a simple system of mental notation that had enabled him to keep a methodical record in his mind.
The adventure at the Goliath Hotel, when he had been overpowered and doped in his room, had been the first event in this new campaign.
Late the next morning when he awoke, he had reported to The Shadow but had received no reply, so he had simply waited. Then he had read the news of Perry Warfield's murder and of the subsequent police fight with Killer Bryan.
Harry had recognized Bryan's picture. It was the killer who had overpowered Harry in his hotel room.
But what most concerned Harry Vincent right now were the events that had followed his sojourn with Hubert Banks. He had come to the millionaire's home in response to orders from The Shadow.
As always, the orders had been written in code, and with chemical ink that vanished a few minutes after the envelope had been opened.
Nominally, Harry was the millionaire's secretary. Actually, he was his companion. He was working for The Shadow - not for Hubert Banks.
He had observed the millionaire's strange actions, had humored his whims and had been with him constantly.
Banks talked frequently of a man named Clifford Gage, who was presumably Harry's sponsor. Harry had received information concerning Gage from The Shadow. Gage became a topic of frequent conversation.
With the increase of friendship between Hubert Banks and Harry Vincent, the millionaire had lost his old mistrustfulness.
At night, Harry wrote his report to The Shadow, using a pen loaded with the type of ink that The Shadow had
