A MASS of blackness dropped downward from the top of the studio. It spread out momentarily upon
the floor; then rose upright to become the tall figure of a being clad in black, a sinister shape beneath a
flowing cloak, a hidden head covered by a broad slouch hat.
'Through the skylight!' blurted Jocelyn.
'Some intruder,' snarled Urlich, 'come to spoil my plan of death — '
'The Shadow!'
The final cry came from Larry Ricordo. The gang lord was trembling with excitement. His companions
turned toward him. They could see the whiteness of his face beside the window.
'The Shadow!' Consternation filled Ricordo's voice. 'He stops at nothing! He will save Sartain! He is our
enemy!'
To Jocelyn, the very tone of Ricordo's voice was alarming. The financier did not know the ways of the
underworld, he did not share the common fears of gangsters who dreaded the power of The Shadow.
But he sensed the menace from Ricordo's words.
To Professor Urlich, the gang leader's fright was also evident. Urlich, like Jocelyn, knew that Ricordo
had sighted a potential menace. The Shadow was leaning over Alfred Sartain, raising the millionaire's
body toward the reviving air currents that came from above.
Silent death had failed. Urlich, however, viewed The Shadow as an ordinary human, who had somehow
bungled into this situation. He gave no thought to the weird impressiveness of The Shadow's garb. His
one theme was his anger at the unexpected failure of his plot to end Alfred Sartain's life.
'Our victim is saved!' he snarled. 'He will recover now — to live — '
'To live!' cried Jocelyn. 'Then my efforts will be of no avail! Unless Sartain dies to-night, the Universal
deal will be accomplished. My holdings will lose instead of gaining!'
Larry Ricordo was leaning from the window. Venom showed in the gang leader's puffy lips. In his hand,
he gripped a large revolver, which he was aiming toward the studio across the street.
'It's a long shot,' he growled grimly, 'but I'll try to plug them both. We've got to get Jocelyn — and if we
can get The Shadow, too — '
'Stop!' hissed Professor Urlich, seizing Ricordo's arm. 'Your shots will be useless! They may lead to our
discovery in this office!'
'Useless?' echoed Ricordo. 'Watch me blast them through that window! They're set right where I want
them!'
'The glass is bullet-proof,' interposed Urlich. 'Have you forgotten that, Ricordo?'
The gang leader snarled as he let his arm fall helplessly. He had forgotten. The very feature of the
trap — the unbreakable window— which had been designed to insure Alfred Sartain's life, had now
become a protection for both the millionaire and his mysterious rescuer!
PROFESSOR URLICH stared spitefully at the scene; Thomas Jocelyn groaned. The Shadow was still
working to restore Alfred Sartain to consciousness. Larry Ricordo, gripping his gun with frenzy, was the
one who suddenly supplied the way of action.
'We can get him yet!' he snarled. 'You'll see how I work now, professor. Those men of mine can turn
the trick. The Shadow is a tough egg; but he's going to have trouble getting out of this mess!'
The gang leader leaped to a corner of the darkened office. He gripped a telephone, and swore roundly
as he was forced to use a flashlight to see the dial. While muttered oaths came from his lips, he spun the
number that he wanted.
'That you, Slips?' came his low voice. 'Good… Yes, this is Larry… Yes, get going. Up to Sartain's.
Crash right through… Hurry… Listen, there is another guy with him… Yes, you'll know him all right… The
Shadow… No… No… Don't tell the others. Get going… It's the one chance, and I'm watching. Get me?
I'm looking on!'
The receiver dropped on the hook. Ricordo turned toward the window, where Urlich and Jocelyn were
still staring at the building across the street.
'Still there?' Ricordo demanded anxiously.
'Yes,' responded Professor Urlich.
'We'll get him, then!' snarled Ricordo. 'I tipped Slips Harbeck. He's going up with the gorillas. Duster
Brooks will help them. They'll get Sartain and The Shadow both!'
'It will mean a terrible commotion,' interposed Thomas Jocelyn nervously. 'It will be murder,
Ricordo — the police will investigate.'
'What of it?' growled the gang leader. 'I've got my trail all covered. Only Slips Harbeck and Duster
Brooks know that I'm in back of it. They won't squeal; they'll scram. As for you and the professor,
there's no link between me and you bozos. What we want is to see Sartain dead.'
'Ricordo is right,' agreed the professor quietly. 'Have no alarm, Jocelyn. I would prefer silent death; but
violence is acceptable in this emergency. Thomas Jocelyn must die — and his rescuer with him.'
No further words came as the trio watched the studio. The Shadow was swinging Alfred Sartain to the
chair beside the desk. The millionaire moved feebly. He lay, outstretched, his face staring upward.
PROFESSOR URLITCH was gazing through the opera glasses. He could not, however, sight the face
of that mysterious being in black. Even in that enlarged field of vision, The Shadow's head and shoulders
were entirely a mass of darkness. The brim of the slouch hat cast an impenetrable gloom upon the
features beneath it.
'I can't see his face,' announced Urlich calmly, 'but that does not matter. It is turned from the
doorway — which is most favorable. If your men are capable, Ricordo — '
The scientist paused to lower the glasses and glance at Ricordo in the dim light by the window. The gang
leader emitted a coarse laugh.
'They're the best gorillas money can buy,' he affirmed. 'But they're up against The Shadow. Don't forget
that, professor! I tipped Slips, and he won't miss a trick. The Shadow, professor! He's the one guy that
they've all tried to get.'
'Your men are coming now,' exclaimed Jocelyn suddenly. 'I can see a motion through the windows of
the outer room!'
'Right!' added Ricordo. 'They'll be at the door in a few seconds. Say — if they blot out The Shadow — '
'Look!'
Professor Urlich was pointing from the office window. His long forefinger indicated the black-clad figure
of The Shadow.
Satisfied that Alfred Sartain was reviving, the black-clad rescuer was rising. His form became a tall,
menacing shape; then, suddenly, it became motionless. A momentary pause. Black-gloved hands swung
inward toward the shrouding cloak.
'They have reached the door by now,' asserted Jocelyn tensely.
'Yes!' agreed Ricordo, in an excited tone. 'They're at the door— and they've got The Shadow!'
As though proving the truth of the gang leader's assertion, the tall form in black pirouetted suddenly
toward the door of the studio. A cry of elation came from Larry Ricordo.
The Shadow, when he swung, was weaponless. He, with Alfred Sartain, seemed doomed!
CHAPTER V. THE SHADOW DEPARTS
THE three witnesses to the rare spectacle of The Shadow at work were totally unacquainted with the
methods of the black-clad rescuer. Even Larry Ricordo, hardened denizen of the underworld, knew but
little of The Shadow's ways. Hence the rising motion of the black-cloaked form, the passage of the
gloved hands toward the garment that shrouded the shoulders beneath; even the quick pirouette of the
figure itself — were all accepted by the viewers as token of The Shadow's unpreparedness.
