spreading folds of his black cloak.
He jostled back and forth whenever the cab turned a curve. He was oblivious of his journey until the taxi driver rapped against the window.
'Here we are, sir,' he said.
'Wait here,' ordered the passenger.
The cab was standing in front of a house on Ninety-sixth Street. The man in the black cloak climbed the steps and entered.
The Shadow went to a room on the second floor. There, in the darkness, he opened a drawer in a table and produced various objects which he distinguished purely by touch. He stowed them in the pockets of his coat.
Then he placed something upon his face and worked nimbly, still in darkness. He threw aside his cloak and hat. He took an automatic from the drawer and pocketed it.
When he again appeared upon the street, his face was that of Clifford Gage. The taximan stared at his passenger.
Entering the cab, Gage gave him the address of Doctor Heinrich Zerndorff's apartment.
In his apartment, the criminologist stared in amazement at his visitor.
'Where have you been?' he exclaimed. 'Have you not found this man that you have sought?'
'The Black Master?' questioned Gage quietly. 'Yes, I have found him. Last night -'
He stopped and suddenly picked up a newspaper that lay on the table. It bore the imprint of July 8th.
In huge headlines, it told of the electrocution of the three men who had placed the bombs. It announced that Sforza and Pecherkin would die the next day.
'One week,' murmured Gage. Even to The Shadow this was amazing. He realized that he had lain helpless for more than seven days. He recalled the words of The Black Master - 'You shall taste of death -'
He glanced at Zerndorff. The German was looking at him sympathetically. He seemed to understand what was passing in the mind of Clifford Gage.
'These men,' declared Gage, pointing to the newspaper, 'are innocent! Innocent, do you understand?
Those who have died were guilty, although they were but tools of The Black Master! We must save these two -'
'Save them?' echoed Zerndorff.
'Yes!' replied Gage. 'I met The Black Master! I have found his lair! Cardona was to capture him, but he failed me!'
'Ah!' Zerndorff's eyes lighted in understanding. 'He has told me of it, yes. There was a house where he was to go, one night - but he did not go until the next night -'
'And he found?'
'Nothing! An empty house! He believed that it was a hoax. A hoax, yes.'
'Where is Cardona now?'
'He has gone from town, I believe' - Zerndorff's eyes lighted suddenly - 'but there is evidence at police headquarters. I have received letters, which I have given to the police - letters that have threatened me with bombs.
'They have believed that they have come from friends of these two men - Sforza and Pecherkin. Perhaps this man you call The Black Master - he has sent them?'
Doctor Zerndorff picked up the telephone. He called police headquarters and talked to a detective.
'It is Doctor Zerndorff, yes,' he said. 'Those letters which have come to me - I wish a friend of mine to see them. He will be there soon, yes. His name is Mr. Gage. You understand, yes?'
He hung up the telephone.
'You have no clue?' Zerndorff questioned. 'Nothing you have found? We must think of everything, yes!'
'Only this.' From his pocket, Gage produced the token of The Black Master. 'I had two of them. One was taken away. This was left.'
'You must keep it with you!' declared Zerndorff. 'It is important! Go, now, to police headquarters.'
Gage left. He rode in a cab to headquarters. There he was shown two crudely penciled letters - threats against the life of Doctor Zerndorff. Gage smiled as he studied them.
'No use,' he said, giving them back to the detective.
'Doctor Zerndorff phoned while you were on the way,' replied the man. 'He says that his limousine will be outside to bring you back. His man, Otto, has a message that he is to give to you.'
Clifford Gage walked to the street door. He was smiling now, and as he stepped into the darkness, he laughed softly.
The laugh was scarcely more than an echo - yet it was a mysterious laugh - the laugh of The Shadow!
The limousine was awaiting its passenger. Otto stood beside it on the curb.
Clifford Gage reached in his pocket. He withdrew the black disk which he found there. He smiled grimly as he studied the small token of The Black Master.
'Threats,' he murmured. 'Threats against the life of Doctor Zerndorff. Threats - from whom?'
He dropped the black disk into a crevice beside the steps and his face gleamed with satisfaction as he watched it fall from view.
Then, with a strange, knowing smile on his face, Clifford Gage descended to the limousine. Otto saluted him in military fashion. Gage entered the car.
As the limousine rolled forward, he moved from the back seat and raised the cushion. He turned the ray of a flashlight into the space. There, in a coverless box, was the reflected surface of a polished brass bomb - the duplicate of the instrument of death that the police had found in the Financial Building.
'The agents of The Black Master,' came a low, whispered voice. It was the voice of The Shadow, issuing from the lips of Clifford Gage. 'Their deaths have been timed. They have perished by his design.
Deaths by explosions!
'Those stopped, and to one man came an unexpected fate. Killer Bryan was killed while fighting the police. Like the others, he died at the hand of The Black Master. Now the explosions are to begin again
- timed for the arrival of the victim.'
His voice ended in a hollow, whispered laugh. There was silence; then came the voice of Clifford Gage, speaking to Otto in the front seat. The man at the wheel responded with a 'Ja!' as he received instructions from his passenger.
The limousine turned into a side street. The man in the back seat was silent - thinking - planning!
CHAPTER XXII. THE SHADOW'S TURN
Resting in his easy-chair, Doctor Heinrich Zerndorff sat waiting. He was lost in deep thought, his hands in the pockets of his dressing gown, his head bowed in contemplation.
It was less than an hour since Otto had left for police headquarters to bring back Clifford Gage. The trip was not a long one. Doctor Zerndorff was expecting news.
The door opened behind the seated man - so silently that Doctor Zerndorff did not hear it. There was a faint rustling. This did not reach his ears.
The first inkling that someone had entered the room came to Doctor Zerndorff when he glanced upward because of a sudden impulse. He found himself staring into the muzzle of an automatic. It was held by a mysterious stranger, a man who wore a black cloak and whose face was obscured by the turned-down brim of a broad felt hat.
'The Shadow!' Doctor Zerndorff raised his hands instinctively as he exclaimed the name.
'The Shadow!' came a whispered echo from the man in the black cloak. 'The Shadow, come to claim a reckoning!'
A thin smile played over Doctor Zerndorff's features. He stared at the man before him, as though he could penetrate the disguise that covered that unknown countenance.
'A reckoning?' questioned Zerndorff.
'Yes!' declared The Shadow. 'I have found The Black Master! Your deception was a great one, Zerndorff. Tonight I stood within ten feet of death and failure. But, all along, I understood. Now it is you who will meet
