Crooks Go Straight

CHAPTER XII. THE SHADOW ADVISES

“You — you are a detective?” The gasped question came from Murson, as the hunted man looked up. “You have come — come to arrest me?”

“I am a friend,” spoke The Shadow in a steady, even tone. “I have come to talk to you.”

Murson looked bewildered. He had never seen this person before. He could not understand.

“You were calling an attorney.” The Shadow’s statement was a monotone. “But you learned that he was out.”

“I was calling Egbert Dobbs,” acknowledged Adolph Murson. “He is my lawyer—”

“Mr. Dobbs is keeping an appointment,” informed The Shadow. “One that was arranged on your account. So that you would not talk to him.”

“Why — why shouldn’t I talk to Dobbs?”

“Because he would advise you to give yourself up to the police.”

Murson groaned.

“A proper course for an innocent man,” added The Shadow. “But one that brings great difficulties. I should not advise it for the present.”

Hope gleamed in Murson’s eyes. He realized that this amazing stranger was actually a friend. Finding relief, he blurted:

“How did you discover me here?”

“Quite simply,” stated The Shadow, a slight smile on his lips. “Knowing that you were innocent, I believed that you had gone to Washington as you stated. Something that the police doubted.”

“But — but my coming here—”

“You had an appointment for this morning. At your office. But you changed it to one-thirty this afternoon.”

“Yes. I intended to keep it—”

“By coming in on a train that would reach New York about one o’clock. There are two such trains from Washington. On different railroads.”

Murson nodded.

“I might have come by Pennsylvania,” he admitted. “But I decided to take the Baltimore and Ohio.”

“Two persons went to Philadelphia this morning,” stated The Shadow. He was referring to Cliff Marsland and Harry Vincent. “One boarded the Pennsylvania train; the other took the Baltimore and Ohio. Both were looking for you.”

“And they had seen my printed picture—”

“Yes. One man spied you. He came here in the bus that you took.”

Murson began to remember the young man with the magazine. He nodded. Then his thoughts went back to his plight. His face registered a troubled look.

“Your spectacles are excellent,” remarked The Shadow, maintaining his inflexible smile. “By shaving your mustache and clipping those bushy eyebrows, you can easily pose as John Dyler. Particularly if you remain here. The police are convinced that you are anxious to get out of town. Soon they will believe that you have departed.”

“That’s right!” exclaimed Murson. “And if I don’t call Dobbs, I can sit tight!”

“For a few days,” stated The Shadow.

“For a few days!” gasped Murson. “But — but what about after that?”

“You can visit the police yourself. By that time, the actual perpetrators of the crime will be apprehended.”

THERE was a solemnity in The Shadow’s tone that carried conviction. Murson believed the firm words of his amazing visitor. More at ease, he shifted in his chair; then delivered a question that was in his mind.

“Why are you helping me?” he asked. “Why does saving me from arrest have to do with the criminals?”

The Shadow did not give an immediate reply. Instead, he seated himself in a chair opposite Murson and brought a gold cigarette case from his pocket. He offered the broker a smoke. Murson accepted. The Shadow lighted a cigarette of his own.

“Dangerous men have come from under cover,” he explained. “Successful in murder, they have dived beneath the surface. They are elated because you are wanted for their crime. Your arrest would make them cautious, because you are innocent.

“But so long as you appear to be the one the police want, the crooks will feel themselves free to move again. They will believe that you are hiding out through fear. They will act as quickly as possible, before you are uncovered.

“Our purpose” — The Shadow’s tone was steady and impersonal — “is to lull them. That will be accomplished through your cooperation. I have shown you how to remain undiscovered. I shall tell you how and where to reach me in case of emergency. In the meantime, you can assist by telling me all you know regarding the affairs of Theobald Luftus.”

Murson nodded; then stared speculatively toward the smoke that was rising from his cigarette.

“Those rogues made a big haul,” he stated. “Pretty close to half a million, I should gauge. I can describe a few of the securities that Murson held.”

“Later.”

“All right. I guess you want to know when I last saw Luftus. That was yesterday afternoon. He asked me to come up and look over a lot of his stocks and bonds. I went there.”

“At what hour?”

“About three o’clock. I wasn’t going to Washington until about five. A visit to a friend down there. Business regarding investments. Well, sir, Luftus showed me stack after stack of gilt-edged stuff! The man was an absolute miser in his way.”

“And his purpose—”

“Was to get my opinion regarding a gift of twenty thousand dollars. He didn’t say who it was to. Just picked out batches of securities and asked me which he could give easiest without hurting himself.

“He said some people were coming to get the twenty thousand. He referred to a letter and mentioned that he’d have to call the people up.”

“And the letter—”

“Went back into his safe along with the securities.

“You know” — Murson narrowed his thick eyebrows — “I think that servant, Barry, was trying to tell the whole thing from the start.

“He wanted to tell the police that I could give them information. That I was there, and that I brought old Luftus a special account book in which he could list all of his securities. Luftus was making such a list when I left.”

“Would he have placed the book in his safe?”

“Yes. He kept all of his papers there. Well, sir, when I saw the New York newspaper on the train, I went into a funk. It looked bad for me. I guess I did just what you expected I’d do.

“I got out of sight. I didn’t want to be arrested and have to give my flimsy story. That’s why I came here. And I’m going to stay here, like you’ve told me.”

The Shadow arose from his chair.

“Do exactly as I have ordered,” he said in his modulated tone. “Play your part as John Dyler. Answer telephone calls without alarm. You will hear further from me. Your testimony has its value. Rest assured that the real criminals will be uncovered.”

The Shadow extended his hand. Murson received it. Then the tall visitor turned and departed, leaving the broker sighing in relief.

Standing by the elevators on the ninth floor, The Shadow indulged in a soft, almost inaudible laugh. He had accomplished his mission with Adolph Murson. New knowledge had been acquired.

Through his contact with the hunted broker, The Shadow had gained another step in the swift pace that he was taking toward the climax that he wanted.

With the parts played by Steve Zurk and Beak Latzo already clearing in his mind, The Shadow was prepared to deal with men of crime.