The operation was repeated with the second letter. Both envelopes having been carefully sealed, the hands gathered them and disappeared from the light. Soft footsteps moved through the darkness.
The curtain rustled in the outside room. Howard Jennings looked up to see the black form with its blurred white face standing before him in the pale blue light.
An arm moved slowly toward Jennings. He saw two white objects. He grasped them and discovered that they were sealed envelopes.
'Receive instructions,' said a quiet voice from the curtain.
'Ready,' replied Jennings.
'You will see that Vincent gets these letters immediately,' said the voice, speaking in a mechanical monotone. 'Express surprise if he asks about the old letter. State that you thought he had received it before.
'Tomorrow night,' continued the voice, 'you will wait until Vincent has left the house. Then begin the final plan of operation. You understand?'
'Instructions received.'
'Remember,' said the voice, 'you will follow those orders in every detail! Is everything in readiness?'
'All is ready!'
'Be sure that Banks has telephoned for Chalmers. There must be witnesses on hand. Remember, after Mr. Barton has arrived.'
'All is ready.'
'And remember' - the voice was low and threatening - 'remember that your name is Graham Jenkins, not Howard Jennings! Remember that your only protection is The Black Master!'
The man in the center of the room shifted his position uneasily. His face was pale in the shimmering light.
'Ten years in the penitentiary awaits you,' the voice went on. 'Ten years - if the word is spoken. Your safety depends upon your faithfulness!
'And remember, also, that if you fail, or if you speak a single betraying word, you will never serve those ten years. Instead you will die! You will die at the word of The Black Master!'
Jennings nodded.
'Guard every action,' said the voice. 'The Black Master will excuse no failure! He does not wait for explanations. He strikes down those who disobey his will. Tomorrow night you will witness his vengeance.'
The lights in the room flickered three times. It was a signal which Jennings understood. He reached in his pocket and drew forth a small object which he held upon his outstretched hand. It was the black disk that symbolized the power of The Black Master.
The lights flickered once again. Jennings turned and opened the door. He stepped into the outer hall. The door closed behind him. The shrouded room was plunged in darkness.
Jennings groped his way from the house. He stole cautiously along the alley. He walked briskly down the street, turned a corner, walked another block and came to an avenue. There he hailed a passing cab.
As the valet stepped into the waiting vehicle, a dark shadow seemed to form about him. The man did not notice it.
He gave the driver a destination not far from the home of Hubert Banks. As the cab moved away from the curb, Jennings did not look back. Thus he failed to see the tall figure clad in black that stood by the wall of the nearest house.
But he did crouch in sudden alarm at the sound which reached his ears. From some unknown place came the low, weird tone of a chilling, mocking laugh that aroused terrifying thoughts. It made Jennings remember the weird room where he had received his final instructions.
More than that, it brought back chilling remembrances of stories that he had heard in the underworld, before he had come beneath the sway of The Black Master. Jennings had heard the laugh of The Shadow!
CHAPTER XV. HARRY OBEYS ORDERS
ON the morning of June 1st, Harry Vincent found two letters lying on the table when he came down to breakfast.
Hubert Banks had not yet risen. Harry was alone in the breakfast room. He looked curiously at the postmarks on the envelopes, then summoned the butler.
'When did these letters come in?' he demanded.
'Graham gave them to me this morning,' replied the butler.
'Get Graham, then.'
When the valet arrived, Harry lost no time in questioning him.
'One of them came this morning, Mr. Vincent,' explained the valet. 'I answered the door when the postman arrived. I put the mail on the tray, after sorting it, and while I was doing so, I saw something lying on the floor beside the table.
'It was the other letter, Mr. Vincent. It must have dropped there yesterday. So I put it on the tray, sir, and gave the tray to Hubert.'
The man's explanation was reasonable. Harry glanced at the letter in question. The envelope was a trifle dusty.
'It must have been there since day before yesterday,' he said. Then he looked at the more recent letter.
'Well, this one bears yesterday's postmark. It's all right Graham.'
The valet bowed and left the room.
Harry opened the first letter. It was brief and written in the familiar code: No instructions. Await important letter. Expect it within three days. Acknowledge it without details. This applies to June the first.
He watched the writing disappear. Then he opened the second envelope: Leave house secretly after dinner tomorrow. Wear valet's coat and hat. Take taxicab waiting at corner opposite Uptown Garage. Further instructions in envelope on back seat of cab.
Harry read the message rapidly; then he began to scan the inked lines a second time.
He thought that he had detected a slight error in one of the coded words - something that had never occurred in any message from The Shadow. But before he had found the word in question, the message began to disappear. Harry then recalled that the ink of these two letters had been slightly different in color from the ink used in the first letters. Evidently there had been some change in the chemical formula.
He looked at the two blank pieces of paper. They bore the telltale edge marks of number six and number seven. That gave the letters the authentic proof that was required. It put Harry's mind at ease.
After breakfast, he wrote a brief note, stating that the instructions in number seven would be followed exactly. He went to the drug store to purchase some cigars. The solemn-faced clerk was already on duty. The envelope passed from Harry to the clerk.
Hubert Banks appeared in a troubled mood at breakfast. Although Harry had finished eating, he sat and talked with the millionaire while the latter ate his morning meal.
Harry knew instinctively that it would be wise to watch Hubert Banks on this eventful day. The millionaire had made no reference to the date. Harry hoped that he had forgotten it.
The morning went by rapidly. Then, during the afternoon, Banks did the unexpected. He ordered the car and decided to take a ride to Long Island, where work was being done to repair his summer home, which had been damaged by a mysterious fire.
Harry accompanied him, but Banks was silent during most of the journey. Whatever was troubling him, he was at least keeping it to himself, and Harry regarded this as somewhat encouraging. They arrived back in New York at half-past six, in time to dress for dinner.
Hubert Banks possessed a large stock of pre-prohibition liquor, and he had ordered it served plentifully at dinner that evening. While Harry abstained from drinking, he noted that Banks drank much more than was his usual custom.
When they retired to the living room, after dinner, the millionaire ordered Herbert to bring more drinks.
While the butler was gone, Harry arose.
'I must leave you for a short while,' he said to Banks. 'I expect to be back very soon.'
'Don't make it too long,' said Banks. 'Want to talk with you tonight, old top! Don't be gone long!'
