Graham had not seen his uncle, Ezra Talboy. Yet he felt a great contempt for the man. So far as crookedness was concerned, Ezra Talboy won the grand prize. The old man’s dealings with Ralph Delkin had been nothing more than legalized crime, in Graham Wellerton’s opinion.
All crime seemed sordid to Graham, yet the young man was pleased that he had committed tonight’s robbery, He realized that he had not done it from a sense of gratitude to Ralph Delkin. He had performed the deed because he admired the grand courage which Eunice Delkin had displayed in the face of approaching adversity.
Graham intended to turn in. He felt sure that his actions of tonight would never be traced. He knew that his uncle would never dare accuse so fine a character as Ralph Delkin of entering a bank and robbing a safe to take away notes that bore his name. Graham realized, however, that it would be wise for him to establish an alibi through Delkin. Hence he was pleased when the manufacturer suddenly appeared in the living room.
Evidently Delkin, in his talk with Eunice, had gained some of the girl’s courage, for the man showed no more signs of nervousness. He spoke in a friendly tone to Graham and seemed to take it for granted that the young man had been in the living room for the last two hours.
“I’m going to stay up for a while,” announced Delkin, in a cordial manner. “I’m going over my accounts, to see how badly off I am.”
“Think I’ll turn in,” returned Graham in a sleepy tone.
As he left the living room, Graham had a sudden thought. He realized that normally, the robbery of Ezra Talboy’s safe would have been discovered by this time. Roaring thunder, however, had drowned the sound of the explosion. If the broken safe were not discovered until morning, people would not know at what time the bank had been entered.
This would certainly have an effect upon any alibi. Graham saw but one way out. The storm, had abated. He must go back to the bank, cause enough disturbance to arouse Ezra Talboy from his home adjoining the old building and make a quick getaway here to Delkin’s.
Graham saw an easy way to do this. He went upstairs to his room, opened the window and stepped out on the roof of a low back porch. He dropped to the ground and circled to the front of the house.
THE set-up seemed perfect. Graham thought of all possibilities as he hurried along the street. If there were people at the bank, it would mean that the blown safe had been discovered. A quick return to Ralph Delkin’s would suffice.
If no one was in sight, it would be easy to alarm Ezra Talboy, then hurry back to Delkin’s. Up by the porch roof, then downstairs to chat with Delkin for a while. That would make a perfect alibi, for Ezra Talboy would set the time of the entry into the bank as the time of the alarm.
Absent from Delkin’s sight for no longer than fifteen minutes, Graham could easily prove that he would not have had time to enter a window and blow a safe. Graham chuckled thoughtfully. He was sure that he would avoid all suspicion, so why worry about such consequences?
Once again, Graham Wellerton was followed. The Shadow, taking up the trail, was moving silently and invisibly. He was there to witness the former crook’s next deeds.
As Graham reached the side street that led by the bank, The Shadow paused. The street was silent and deserted - a re-entry through the side window would be easy. Yet Graham Wellerton was not going in that direction. He was heading through a space behind the bank - toward the house which adjoined the building - toward Ezra Talboy’s home.
A soft, whispered laugh came from The Shadow’s lips. The black-garbed phantom moved slowly on the trail. Well did The Shadow divine Graham’s purpose. He knew that the young man intended to give an alarm.
At the back door of Ezra Talboy’s home, Graham Wellerton paused. This had once been his father’s home. Graham knew that there was an inside passage between the bank and the house. It was better, however, to make some noise here than go back into the bank. Graham tried the knob of the door.
To his surprise, the door opened!
Cautiously, Graham crept forward. He heard the sound of growling voices. He saw light trickling from a door that was ajar. Realizing that something must be wrong, Graham approached and drew the door open inch by inch.
He peered into a little room - its only window a small opening in a tiny court between the house and the bank building. At the other side was the door that connected, by a passage, to the bank. The occupants of the room, however, were of most interest to Graham.
There were three men in the room. One was Ezra Talboy, sprawled in a great chair, attired in pajamas. The others were men who carried revolvers. They were threatening the old man.
“So you didn’t like it when we began to work, huh?” one intruder was growling. “It ain’t so nice, gettin’ your feet singed with matches? Well - that ain’t nothin’ to what’ll happen if you’ve given us the wrong combination to your vault. Savvy?”
Graham Wellerton had recognized the men. The speaker was Garry, Wolf Daggert’s pal. The other man was Pete - one of Graham’s own men. As Graham stared, the door opened, and another man stepped into view.
“Say,” greeted the newcomer, “the old mug has given us a phony steer. We can’t get into the vault nohow.”
Graham knew the speaker as another of his old underlings - a fellow called “Greaser.” These were the three who had avoided The Shadow in Grand Rapids, along with Wolf Daggert. At this very minute, Wolf Daggert must be in the bank building, working at the vault, trying a combination which had been forced, by torture, from Ezra Talboy’s lips.
“So you bluffed us, eh?” snarled Garry. “Tryin’ to stall? Well, you’ll pay for it!”
Before Ezra Talboy could utter a scream, Garry had clapped his big hand over the old man’s mouth. Greaser launched himself upon the old man’s form to prevent a struggle. Pete, with calm indifference, lighted a match and began to apply the flame to Talboy’s toes. Graham could see his uncle writhe pitifully.
GRAHAM WELLERTON was unarmed. Nevertheless, he was a man of courage, and he knew the failings of these fellows who had served under him and Wolf Daggert. There was no time to treat with them; the moment was here for action.
With a furious leap, Graham sprang through the door and fell upon Pete, the nearest one to him. With a powerful swing, he sent the ruffian sprawling on the floor.
Greaser leaped up and drew his gun; before he could level the weapon, Graham clipped him on the jaw and sent him down in a heap. Garry, the last of the trio, sprang away from Ezra Talboy and jerked a gun into view, aiming it at Graham.
This was a wise move. Garry was away before Graham could overwhelm him. With a quick dive, Graham plucked up the revolver which Greaser had dropped in his fall and turned to meet Garry’s attack.
The man fired first. His shot was wide. The bullet whipped through the edge of Graham’s coat. Quickly, Graham responded with a shot. Garry snarled as the bullet nicked his left shoulder.
Fiercely, Graham turned to meet Pete, who he knew was coming up. He fired one wide shot. Pete leveled his revolver in return. Graham’s second shot was wide; then came the burst of Pete’s revolver.
Graham heard a scream behind him. Then he felt a stinging sensation in his own right shoulder. As he staggered away, Graham half turned and saw Ezra Talboy kneeling on the floor in back of him. Intuitively, Graham knew what had happened.
His uncle had leaped up from the chair. Scurrying for safety, the old man had crossed in back of Graham just as Pete had fired. The bullet, passing through Graham’s arm, had ended its swift course by lodging in Ezra Talboy’s body.
Graham’s right fingers were numb. The young man managed to clutch his slipping revolver with his left hand. He realized, dazedly, that he was on the spot.
Pete was aiming for a second shot; Garry was leveling his revolver. Graham saw Greaser rising to his feet, pulling another revolver into view.
Then came a cannonlike roar from the door through which Graham had entered the room. With a snarl, Pete collapsed. Graham, seeing Garry and Greaser turn their aim toward the door, also stared in that direction.
For an instant, he thought he detected the outline of a tall, human form. Then, as gangster revolvers barked, fierce tongues of flame shot from the muzzles of automatics, and terrific reverberations seemed to shake the
