admiring his evening clothes. From a vase of flowers, Fondelac tried to choose one which suited his present mood. Had he continued to look into the mirror, he would have noticed something that The Shadow saw.
The window in another room was opening. Into the darkness of the room came
three men, one by one. Despite the gloom, The Shadow could see the glitter of their drawn revolvers.
Coolly, The Shadow drew an automatic from beneath his cloak. His doorway had a perfect background of almost solid blackness. Since crime was in the wind, The Shadow was quite willing to abolish a few of Five-face's lieutenants,
if occasion demanded.
Still, he was hoping that things might work out. These crooks would be satisfied with carry-over money; perhaps a robbery would suit them, instead of a kidnapping.
Provided that Fondelac had any money. That was the real problem.
As the crooks moved in on the unsuspecting count, The Shadow's hopes were dwindling, for he could see eagerness in the eyes of the men who planned the abduction. As Fondelac happened to glance into the mirror, The Shadow's hand was tightening on its gun.
Then, with a sweep, The Shadow slid the weapon beneath his cloak and eased
back into the darkness!
Whatever happened, The Shadow was willing to be a mere witness to the affair. Count Fondelac had seen the mobsters in the mirror, and his face had registered an expression that was sufficient for The Shadow.
This was to be crime with a most curious twist, that promised the very results The Shadow wanted!
CHAPTER XVI
THE FOURTH FACE
HIS fingers placing a flower in his buttonhole, Count Fondelac let his sleek hands turn palm forward. They were not only empty, they were practically raised, when he happened to turn in the direction of the invaders.
Seeing the three crooks, Fondelac gave a gasp to denote surprise and let his hands move slowly apart. He stood quite helpless, and made no effort to change his predicament. Except for the trifling gasp, the count remained silent.
Banker moved forward, as spokesman for the three.
'Just take it easy, count,' he said. 'We want you to come along with us.'
'Why so, m'sieu'?' queried Fondelac, in a rather mild tone. 'I already have an engagement.'
'Yes, and you can keep it,' declared Banker, 'provided that you can make the future countess listen, when you call her on the phone. We're going to hold
you until she coughs over some big dough, pretty boy!'
'Dough?' Fondelac looked puzzled. 'Ah, oui.' He nodded. 'You mean money.
What is it we shall do - play that game with the cards, that you call poker?'
'That's it,' put in Clip, giving Banker a nudge. 'We want to deal you in on a poker game, over at our place. If you lose, you can call up your girl friend and tell her to send over what you owe us.'
Grease was grinning from the background. He was beginning to see how this kidnapping job could be managed without Fondelac ever realizing what it was.
Apparently, the count thought that poker parties were something like a fraternity initiation.
'I shall go,' decided Fondelac. 'But there is one thing which I must remind you. I have played this game of poker' - he gestured toward a table and a pack of cards upon it - 'and I have found one thing strange.'
Fondelac was reaching for the cards. Guns nudged close to him, in case he reached for one of his own. But the visiting crooks weren't expecting trouble from the count. They simply thought it best to humor him, to help their own game along.
'There is a hand like this,' said Fondelac. He counted four clubs face upward on the table. 'But it is not enough. You must have five, I am told. So
-'
Laying the pack aside with his left hand, he swept his right over the four
clubs. The bunched cards spread apart; in their midst was a fifth club. In perfect fashion, Count Fondelac had executed the stunt that Flush Tygert had made famous!
Guns lowered in the hands that gripped them, as though the sheer weight of
the weapons had carried them down. Three astounded thugs had lost their muscular
control, though one of them, Grease Rickel, still had vocal cords that functioned. He blurted:
'Five-face!'
COUNT FONDELAC gave a grin that was anything but aristocratic. It was the grin that belonged to Barney Kelm. When he spoke again, he used a drawl that was reminiscent of Flush Tygert, though there was something of Jake Smarley in his voice, as well.
'I was going to call you tonight,' said Five-face, 'after I got away from this shindig that Albertina Adquin is throwing for me. It's kind of tough, being Count Fondelac. I have to stick around Park Avenue. It would look funny if I barged into your place.'
He gestured for his lieutenants to sit down. Then, stroking his chin, Five-face remarked slowly:
'A cute idea, trying to kidnap me. Only, it wouldn't work. That fool Albertina would call up all the lawyers in town, and hire a special train to bring the F.B.I. in from Washington. No, I'd better go through with the next job the way I planned it.'
'What's that to be?' asked Clip. 'Are you going to marry the dame?'
'Not a chance,' returned Five-face. 'All she'd ever hand me would be allowance money. I started this Fondelac racket one time when I was abroad.
There was a real Count Fondelac, and he faked it for me to be his successor.
'I paid him, of course, and he did what I expected. Finished himself off by drinking absinthe as fast as he could buy it. So I became Fondelac - when I wanted to be - and it was worth the price. You see' - he gave a broad smile -
'Fondelac and Flush often traveled on the same boat. A good out, in case of trouble.'
Banker put a query:
'How did the Adquin dame get hold of you?'
'By accident,' replied the fake count. 'I thought it was a good break, but
it didn't turn out that way. I've got to get rid of her, and the only way is to
get rid of Fondelac.'
'Like you did the other faces,' nodded Banker. 'What's the next job - to trim the dame out of a lot of dough?'
'It won't work,' replied Five-face. 'No, the racket is this: I rate high as Fondelac, and a lot of people think I already have nicked the dame for plenty. Tonight, I'm going to put the clamps on some guy with plenty of dough, and hook him. I'll sell him fake bonds, telling him that Albertina gave them to
me.'
'Good enough,' agreed Banker, 'but how do we come into it?'
'The same as usual. If the guy gets wise, I'll have to lam like I did before. It means a cover-up, because if the victim won't hand over the cash, I'll take it from him.'
Lieutenants showed their approval of the scheme. While they were nodding, Fondelac drew some money from a wallet and distributed a few hundred dollars to
each man.
'That will carry you over until tomorrow night,' he said. 'I don't know who the dub is going to be yet, but I'll pick one out at the reception. I'll add the take to the rest of the loot, and we'll split afterward.
'I couldn't keep the stuff around here, not with the snoopy valet that I hired. Don't worry, though. I've got it stowed away, and I know how to freeze the hot stuff. So let's have a drink before I start to the reception.'
Five-face folded back a screen, to display a miniature barroom, with an array of bottles and glasses on shelves behind the mahogany counter.
WHILE Count Fondelac was mixing drinks for his uninvited friends, The Shadow left the suite by his own route. Descending the stairway, he reached the
