she heard her brother say:
'I thought The Shadow was still alive. Perhaps that's something that might hit you, Bradthaw. Maybe you'd make terms, on that basis.'
Bradthaw's laugh was raucous.
'You think that you can trick me!' he scoffed. 'You tell me that The Shadow still lives -'
'Because he does!'
Francine gave that utterance. It stopped Bradthaw short. Deliberately, Francine continued her statement.
'I saw The Shadow shortly before my last visit to Reddingham's office,' declared the girl. 'That is why I went there alone to complete the sale. George knew that there was danger, because I had told him. That is why I had George stay away. He might have shown that he was worried.'
Strampf suddenly injected himself into the conversation. He eyed Francine over the top of his revolver; then spoke to Bradthaw.
'The girl lies!' announced Strampf. 'The Shadow is dead. She is trying to bluff us.'
Strampf's mania for accuracy made it impossible for him to reject any supposition that he had once accepted as a fact. The man's brain worked along grooves. Bradthaw's thoughts were different. The master-crook was impressed by the firmness of Francine's statement.
'I shall handle this, Strampf,' returned Bradthaw. Then to Francine: 'Since The Shadow still lives, why did he fail you?'
There was a ring of irony in Bradthaw's tone. It did not faze Francine. The girl's reply was crisp.
'The Shadow never failed us,' declared Francine. 'He remained on constant guard near our hiding place.
I saw him on several occasions; the last time was early this morning. Before I wrote the letter to Mr.
Reddingham.'
THIS time Bradthaw saw more than the intensive expression that Francine wore. The supercrook observed George's face and the surprised look that came over it.
George was remembering his morning glimpse into the courtyard where a blackened shape had so mysteriously blotted itself from view.
For the first time, George realized that he - like Francine - had seen The Shadow!
Francine's lips took on a smile. The girl was more confident than ever. Bradthaw suddenly understood the reason. His fists clenched; for the first time he showed excitement. Savagely, he expressed himself to Strampf and Caudrey.
'The Shadow dictated that letter!' exclaimed Bradthaw. 'He ordered Francine to send it to Reddingham to trick us! Don't you see his game? He wanted us concentrated here while he went to rescue his agents!
He failed in that as we know; but The Shadow may still be alive!
'The Shadow gave us bait - that idea of a message from WNX. So we would bring these people here' -
Bradthaw gestured toward Francine and George - 'and lay our cards on the table. We thought The Shadow dead: he kept up the pretense, to deceive us. The Shadow may arrive here at any moment!'
The words jolted Strampf and Caudrey. They saw the smile that Francine still retained. They heard the girl's calm words spoken in full confidence.
'The Shadow is already here,' declared Francine. 'He told me the interval that he would require. I assured him that I could delay events that long. The Shadow is waiting' - Francine turned to point to the entrance - 'outside that very door!'
INSTINCTIVELY, Strampf and Caudrey aimed their weapons in the direction that Francine pointed.
Bradthaw looked toward the door; suddenly he wheeled full about, reaching for a gun of his own. He had caught a sudden inkling of Francine's trick.
It was lucky for Bradthaw that he swung at that instant. A weird laugh filled the sanctum, a mocking tone that belonged within those shrouding walls. Black curtains hollowed the mirth; made its exact location a mystery.
To Strampf and Caudrey, the taunt seemed all about them. It left them bewildered, staring at the outer door.
Only Bradthaw saw The Shadow.
The cloaked invader had entered his captured sanctum through the window that he had used before.
Francine's demand for proof regarding The Shadow was a ruse that had worked, exactly as The Shadow wanted it. Keenly, The Shadow had foreseen that Bradthaw would take his conference upstairs to the sanctum.
That had left the insurance magnate's office clear for The Shadow to enter. From Bradthaw's window the cloaked avenger had scaled to the tower room. Behind his own curtains, The Shadow had witnessed the finish of the scene.
Francine had displayed all the skill that The Shadow expected, even to the ruse of diverting attention to the outer door. Strampf and Caudrey were totally off guard, no longer covering the prisoners.
Even Bradthaw's quick recovery did not give him an advantage against The Shadow. Bradthaw was faced by the muzzle of an automatic. To aim with his own gun would mean death. Nevertheless, Bradthaw raised the weapon; and the move brought him his unexpected luck.
While Francine was making a quick dash for a secure corner of the room, George made the worst move possible. Stampeded by sudden fear for The Shadow's safety, he hurled himself upon Bradthaw, hoping to stop a shot that the crook could never have made.
It was the very break that Bradthaw wanted. The gray-haired crook whipped George in front of him as a buffer. Behind that human shield, Bradthaw took aim at The Shadow.
Strampf and Caudrey heard their chief's triumphant shout and wheeled around to aid. The Shadow opened fire not toward Bradthaw, but to cripple the other pair.
Strampf stumbled as a bullet clipped his shoulder. Caudrey flung away his gun and went scrambling toward the wall.
Along with The Shadow's shots came jabs from Bradthaw's gun. The shots were wild for George was struggling hard to prevent them. Three bullets were all that Bradthaw wasted. Seeing their futility, he adopted other tactics.
Keeping George squarely in front of him Bradthaw pressed straight for The Shadow. Half off balance, George could not resist the drive. He was harrying Bradthaw's gun arm; that was all. The service would be useless once Bradthaw came within six feet of The Shadow.
Again The Shadow laughed. His eerie tone rose with a sardonic shiver that brought a scowl from Strampf, a quake from Caudrey. Bradthaw's steely eyes riveted upon the weaving figure in black. The supercrook caught the meaning of that louder gibe.
It was The Shadow's call for more invaders.
The Shadow had rescued his agents!
AS that thought drove home to him, Bradthaw pictured men already on the stairs. He knew that at any moment the door might he ripped open. George Melrue could not serve as a shield against fire from two directions. Bradthaw saw need for other tactics.
The master-crook acted with surprising speed. He gave a twist that carried him away from George to an angle that was clear of The Shadow's aim. With a terrific spring, Bradthaw lunged upon the fighter in black, aiming as he came.
The Shadow took a backward step through the curtains. An instant later, Bradthaw was driving through, blazing with his gun.
The Shadow had whipped aside behind the curtain, intending to flank Bradthaw with a sledged attack, the moment that he arrived. The Shadow wanted the crooked official alive, like Strampf and Caudrey.
In that, The Shadow was scheduled for disappointment. Perhaps Bradthaw himself, would have preferred surrender to death; but he never gained the choice.
The mad impetus of Bradthaw's surge could not be stopped. It had forced The Shadow to a quick side twist to avoid the shots. Wheeling in upon Bradthaw, The Shadow started a back-hand gun stroke as the crook came through. The Shadow's gun muzzle whipped the curtains; that brush delayed the swing long enough to produce an
