'I do not want the life you promise,' she told Jalway. 'As long as I live - if I should live - I shall seek vengeance for the crimes in which you have had a part. If you let me live, I shall try to denounce you, whenever opportunity comes. I shall have no part in your schemes.'
'It is useless, Jalway,' remarked Elger, in a tone of feigned sorrow. 'The girl will make trouble for us. She must die. With the others.'
Jalway looked perturbed. His keen eyes met Francine's in an almost hypnotic stare. But the girl remained steady.
'I can save you, Francine,' began Jalway, slowly. 'Remember, I can save -'
'Only if you save the others also,' broke in the girl. 'If Seth Hadlow dies, you will be his murderer.'
Jalway remained staring for a moment. Then he turned away. He looked toward Elger and shook his head.
'You are right,' he admitted coldly. 'It is useless. The girl must die. Call on the executioner.'
ELGER turned to Hexler. The brawny man from the boat was merciless in expression. He seemed to have no qualms concerning the slaughter of innocent victims.
'We will bind and gag them here,' stated Elger; 'then you and your crew can carry them to the lower inlet. Riddle them with bullets among the sand dunes. Make the execution a prompt one.
'Ruff and his men will go back by the route they used to come here. They will bring empty boxes, weighted. Also the bodies from the construction house. Ruff has the key.
'Load the new corpses with the old. Place two competent men aboard the Dalmatia, to see that the boxes are dropped when the ship is well out to sea. We do not want anyone aboard the tramp steamer to learn what the boxes contain.'
Elger turned, to deliver an order to Royne. The tall servant departed. His purpose: to get ropes and strips of cloth. Elger had a reason for wanting the victims bound and gagged. He feared that pleas for mercy particularly from Francine - might cause a weakening among Hexler's crew.
The man from the Dalmatia grasped that thought. His lips formed an ugly leer. He nudged his thumb toward the open front door.
'Don't worry about those huskies of mine,' he growled. 'They'd massacre a whole town if they were paid for it. Ruff tells me you'll want them later.'
'I shall,' Elger chuckled. He spoke clearly that Francine and the other prisoners might hear. 'We have located the yacht Maldah. It is aground in an inlet, twenty miles north.
'Kingdon Feldworth has hidden treasure aboard. New swag, as attractive as that which we have already gained. We are turning pirates, Hexler. Long enough to sink the yacht, after we have gained new spoils.'
A cry from Francine. The girl spoke pleading, incoherent words. She was thinking of her uncle's safety. Begging, she manage to gasp to Jalway.
'I shall keep quiet,' the girl promised, 'even - even if you do slay Seth! If only - if only my uncle can be spared!'
'Our plans are made,' declared Elger, coldly, speaking for Jalway. 'Your uncle will die like the rest. No one who was aboard the Maldah will survive!'
'Which reminds me of the professor,' added Jalway, apparently deaf to Francine's pleas. 'He is fond of sleep. By foregoing his coffee, he has managed to slumber through this commotion. Perhaps, Elger, it would be best to eliminate him while he is still in repose. Turn a short sleep into a long one -'
As he spoke, Jalway stepped toward the door. He was almost to the hall when Elger stopped him. Royne had returned with the gags and ropes.
'We'll save the shooting for outside,' decided Elger. 'Put away your revolver, Jalway' - he motioned toward the gun that the promoter had drawn - 'and leave the job to Hexler.
'Ruff - you and one of your men get the professor from his room. Drag him out, and tap that white head of his if he starts to jabber. Make it quick. There is no more time for delay. We must capture the Maldah before dawn.'
RUFF nodded. He stepped from the room, with a man behind him. Royne pointed out the professor's door. Jestingly, Ruff tapped. A crackly voice responded.
'Come out a minute, professor,' called Ruff, in a disguised tone. 'Mr. Elger wants to speak to you.'
Ruff stepped back with a grin, holding his revolver at his side. His companion made the same move. Elger, puffing at his meerschaum, was standing in the doorway of the living room, smiling in anticipation of the doomed man's surprise.
The door swung open. But the professor did not appear. Ruff motioned his companion back, so the old man would not see them until he actually reached the hall. All were watching for the stoop-shouldered, white-haired figure. He did not arrive.
Instead, a whirling form swept suddenly into view. A strange, amazing shape that twisted from the room with a rapidity that was astounding. With that surprise arrival came a startling, eerie laugh - a chilling tone that rang out in strident mirth through this house of doom.
A figure in black that swung to a sudden stop. Glaring eyes that burned from beneath the brim of a felt hat. Gloved fists that projected from the folds of a black cloak, with looming automatics unlimbered for prompt action.
Professor Thaddeus Marcolm existed no longer. His guise had been discarded by the occupant of that secluded room. In the professor's place was a master fighter bent on bringing an end to crime.
The Shadow!
CHAPTER XXI. FIGHTERS OF THE NIGHT
LONG had The Shadow delayed this revelation. Well had he timed his plans for battle. Tonight, he had gone out by the window of his room; its bars were as easily removable as those in the living room.
He had seen the lights of the Dalmatia. He had watched the little boat going out to meet it. More than that, he had ventured forth again, to hear the approach of the landing party.
The Shadow had counted on the presence of his agents. Yet he was taking a chance that they were not there. Listening from the door of his room, he had learned enough to know that victims were marked for deaths. Now was the time to save them. He had waited, knowing that he would be summoned.
In his quick arrival, The Shadow gave his enemies no chance to recover from their surprise. Instant death was all that these murderers deserved. The delivery of quick punishment, moreover, was The Shadow's one hope of conquering overwhelming odds.
Automatics roared through the darkened hall. Point-blank, The Shadow downed Ruff and his henchmen as the two were raising their guns. As Purvis Elger dived for cover of the living room, The Shadow loosed another pair of bullets.
These slugs were meant for Ruff's other henchmen. They found their targets. The mobsters swayed, then toppled, losing their revolvers when they fell.
Royne was leaping for The Shadow. The advancing fighter wheeled. He stopped the servant's body as a quick bulwark; he flung the fellow forward just as Hexler fired. The sea lieutenant's bullet clipped the staggering form of Royne. The Shadow's left-hand automatic barked.
Wounded by a quick shot, Hexler went diving through the doorway, out to the safety that his band would bring. The Shadow, leaping over Royne's prostrate form, was in quick pursuit. But he stopped short at the living room.
TULLY and Chunk were driving out to get him. Revolvers barked with hasty aim. Bullets zipped past The Shadow. One shot skimmed the master fighter's shoulder. The automatic roared new fury to the echoes. Tongues of flame were pointers to the hearts of Tully and Chunk. The villains sprawled simultaneously.
Swiftly, from close range, The Shadow had burrowed straight through the startled enemies who had sought to block him. Each pair of foemen had been beaten in quick struggle. Ruff and his companion had gone first. The second brace of mobsters had been clipped while aiming guns at their formidable antagonist.
The interlude with Royne and Hexler had given Tully and Chunk their chance to enter the fray. These men from the mainland had fired. But The Shadow, more accurate than they, remained unscathed save for a trifling flesh wound, while his foemen had come to grief.
In this brief but terrific thrust, The Shadow reached a vital, strategic point; the door to the living room. He
