have left my estate to my wife. This will does not incriminate me in any way. So there is your opportunity, Carma. Wait - in hopes of gaining all, and live while you wait; or squeal and get nothing.”
“I’ll think it over,” snarled Carma, rising. “You’ll hear from me soon enough. Go ahead - get the will witnessed. I’m in no hurry, now that I’ve had your answer.”
THE woman arose. She walked to the door. Graham did not accompany her. Carma went directly past the spot where The Shadow was standing. She did not see the tall being in black, nor did Graham.
Still in the living room, Graham heard the door slam. He did not hear it reopen softly as The Shadow, too, departed.
Graham went to the telephone to call some friends in Southwark. His purpose was to arrange an appointment for the witnessing of the will. Graham was resigned to whatever might occur. He would wait here until he heard from Carma.
Meanwhile, Carma was going back to the Southwark House. Arrived at the hotel, the woman entered a phone booth in the drug store which adjoined it. As she telephoned, Carma did not notice the tall, silently moving individual who took the next booth. She did not realize that every word she said could be heard.
One call completed, Carma hung up the receiver and waited a few minutes. Then she stepped from the booth and consulted the telephone directory. Eyes were watching as Carma found the name she wanted - that of Ralph Delkin. The number was Southwark 68.
Returning to the booth, Carma called six eight. A sneering curl showed on the woman’s ruddy lips as a voice answered at the other end. In smooth, easy tones, Carma began to speak. As she talked, The Shadow listened!
Carma, tonight, had received her answer. She knew that Graham Wellerton would persist in his intention. Now, Carma was plotting to turn the answer into a fortune greater than the one she had demanded!
CHAPTER XXI
THE PLOT BREAKS
GRAHAM WELLERTON spent a quiet Sunday in his home. The cloudy day seemed to hold the gloom of an approaching storm. Southwark was a dreary town on such a day as this. Graham saw no reason to venture forth.
Evening came. Graham, seated in his living room, heard a ring at the door. He decided that Carma must be here. He went to the door and opened it. He was surprised to find Sheriff Ellis Taussig.
“Hello, sheriff,” greeted Graham. “What’s up?”
“Nothing special,” responded Taussig. “I just came in from Dowser’s. He thought maybe you would ride out and see him.”
“Why didn’t he phone me?” asked Graham.
“The line’s out of order,” returned Taussig. “Dowser may be going out of town early tomorrow. He wants to see you, because he says you have some paper to give him.”
“I have,” said Graham. “But I am also expecting a visitor.”
“Leave a note on the door,” suggested Taussig. “We can get back here in a little while. An hour, say.”
His keenness aroused, Graham suspected some special purpose in the sheriff’s visit. Taussig was tactful. Graham half believed that if he refused to accompany the man, trouble might result. If anything had started, it would be best to learn about it now. Graham penned a brief note and stuck it to the door. He pocketed his witnessed will and went out to the sheriff’s car.
Taussig said but little during the ride to Dowser’s. They swung in through a gate, up a long lane among thick trees and stopped at the lawyer’s home. The sheriff kept very close to his companion as the pair entered the house.
GRAHAM’S first surprise came when he entered Dowser’s living room. Standing with the old lawyer was Ralph Delkin.
What was the manufacturer doing here? Graham wondered. There was tenseness during the handshakes. As the men sat down, Graham drew his will from his pocket and passed it to Harwin Dowser. The lawyer glanced at the document, then read it carefully. He made no comment regarding its contents.
“I shall place this in my safe, Wellerton,” was Dowser’s only remark.
Graham unconsciously glanced to a door across the room. That door, he knew, led to the lawyer’s study. Did Dowser mean the safe in there - or the safe in his own office? It did not matter; but there was something else that did.
Graham noted that the door was very slightly ajar. Through the crevice, he caught a momentary gleam that disappeared the moment he observed it. He sensed that eyes had been watching him. He shuddered as a long forgotten thought came to his mind.
The Shadow!
Once Graham Wellerton had felt that presence of that mysterious being. Did he sense it now? The thought was incredible, yet it persisted. With his criminal past disturbing his mind, Graham was ill at ease. Carma in league with Ralph Delkin - that was a situation bad enough. If The Shadow had suddenly entered the scene, Graham could see naught but doom.
The Shadow warred with criminals. Graham, despite the reform which he had chosen, could not forget that he had been a crook. He feared The Shadow, and his only solace was the effort which he made to laugh off what might be nothing more than pure imagination.
“I can stay only one hour,” remarked Graham cordially. “I may have callers at home - I really should be back there.”
“One hour will be long enough.”
Graham turned in surprise. It was Ralph Delkin who had spoken. The manufacturer’s face had become determined. Graham stared, then looked at Taussig and Dowser. Both seemed stern and solemn. Graham knew that trouble was due to break.
“What is the matter, Delkin?” challenged Graham. “It appears that you have some purpose in being here tonight.”
“I have,” declared Delkin, rising. “You threatened me two nights ago. You told me that trouble would come upon me. It has arrived and I demand the answer.”
“Concerning what?”
“The disappearance of my daughter!”
Graham was on his feet, staring at Delkin in consternation. Turning to Dowser and Taussig, Graham showed the amazement that he felt.
“Eunice Delkin!” he exclaimed. “Has something happened to her? To Eunice?”
“She disappeared last night,” asserted Dowser calmly. “It looks like abduction. Delkin came to me and accused you. I told him to remain here. That is why I asked the sheriff to bring you here.”
“This is horrible!” exclaimed Graham. “I know nothing about it! You may rely upon me to use every effort to aid in finding Eunice!”
“You threatened me,” denounced Ralph Delkin coldly. “That is why I have told the truth about you. Dowser knows all; so does Taussig. You are a crook - the kind of a man who would stoop to kidnaping.”
“You lie!” retorted Graham.
“One moment.” Harwin Dowser spoke gravely as he arose from his chair. “I have represented you, Wellerton, purely as the administrator of your uncle’s estate. I have no sympathy for you now that I have learned that you are a crook by nature. You are trapped, young man. You cannot escape us.”
Graham glanced, quickly toward Sheriff Taussig. The officer did not have a gun in readiness. Graham looked toward the door of the study. He knew that the room had another outlet. A wild desire to escape came over him.
WHILE Graham instinctively moved toward the study, trying to resist the action which would certainly incriminate him, Harwin Dowser issued a loud command. Instantly four masked men leaped into view at the wide archway which led from living room to hall. The men were holding revolvers; they covered Graham Wellerton.
