The Chinese Disks

CHAPTER XXI. CRIME STRIKES

FIVE men were in the living room of a suite at the Hotel Wildebrand. Seated in the center of this group was Police Commissioner Wainwright Barth. To his right was Gautier Ranaud. Leaning back in his chair, the bearded Frenchman was smiling as he smoked a cigar.

Standing beyond Ranaud was Monte Agland. Attired in Tuxedo, the debonair young man seemed quite at ease. Tall, of rather slender build, Monte formed a contrast to Ranaud, who was short and chunky.

On Barth’s left were two representatives of the law. They had arrived but a short while before: Acting Inspector Joe Cardona and Detective Sergeant Markham. Barth had introduced them; now, in exacting fashion, the police commissioner was summarizing the events that had brought them here.

“Monsieur Ranaud,” stated Barth, “has completed a purchase of very valuable uncut diamonds. He is leaving for France in a few days, aboard the Steamship Burgundy. The stones will be placed aboard that vessel at midnight.”

“Where are the gems right now?” inquired Cardona.

“Here,” replied Earth, “in Monsieur Ranaud’s possession. He values them in excess of one million dollars.”

“And he’s got them here!” exclaimed Joe.

“Yes,” said Barth, with a serious nod. “Locked in the drawer of that table.”

“Let me explain, M’sieu,” interjected Ranaud, with a motion of his hands. “You have not tol’ our frien’ the inspector what I have tol’ you, M’sieu Barth. It was not because I wish that I bring those jewel here. Non, M’sieu.

“I have bought them from a syndicate” — Ranaud turned to Cardona — “an’ I ask that they keep them in the safe, until to-morrow. But they say: ‘Non, M’sieu. Those diamon’, they are too valuable. You mus’ take them to the bank.

“But it was late, M’sieu. So I say: ‘Poof! No one can know if I have the diamon’ with me. It was good that I should take them.’ So I bring the diamon’ here. Then I arrange that the armor truck shall come to get them for the boat. Comprenez-vous, M’sieu?”

“I get you,” returned Cardona. “But why haven’t you sent the diamonds down to the steamship already?”

“I mus’ tell you, M’sieu,” returned Ranaud before Barth could make a response. “I call to the steamship from here. They say: ‘Non. We can not take les bijoux — those jewel — until Monsieur le captaine, he is aboard. That will not be until after midnight, so I see that I mus’ wait. I am much worry, also, about the armor truck.

“So I say what shall I do? Then I pretend that I am in France; in Paree. I know what I mus’ do. I call M’sieu le Prefect; he will be my good frien’. Here, you call him the commissioner. So that is what I do. I call M’sieu le Commissionaire” — he indicated Barth — “an’ I say that I must talk to him about one million dollar. That is all I say. So he come here.”

CARDONA grinned in spite of himself. He could picture Wainwright Barth speeding in response to Ranaud’s cryptic request. Barth, finding opportunity to speak, put in his added explanation.

“Monsieur Ranaud was not at all specific,” he declared. “From his conversation, I knew there had been no crime. So I came here to learn what was at stake. Mr. Agland had arrived only a few minutes before me.

“I saw at once that the diamonds should be guarded. So I sent for you and Markham. In the meantime, while you were on the way here, Cardona, I called the Gotham Transportation Company. They will have an armored truck here at midnight.

“I see no occasion for a squad. That would only attract attention. Having no engagement for this evening, I shall remain here with you and Markham. Mr. Agland has decided to remain also. He is a friend for whom Monsieur Ranaud has vouched.”

Cardona nodded. He looked toward the table. Seeing his action, Ranaud lumbered to his feet and produced a key. The Frenchman unlocked the drawer, brought out a small leather bag and opened it.

Cardona could see the uncut stones within. Ranaud smiled and placed the little bag upon the table.

“Who else knows about these diamonds?” questioned Joe, turning to the commissioner.

“No one,” replied Barth. “Except the offices of the International Mining Syndicate.”

“No word went out from here?” inquired the detective. “No telephone calls?”

“None,” responded Barth.

“I made a call,” remarked Monte. “Before you arrived, commissioner. But it did not concern the diamonds. You see, I just happened to drop in to see Ranaud. When he told me that he had the equivalent of a million dollars, entirely unprotected, I thought it best to remain in case he needed me.

“So I called my apartment at the Castellan, to tell my valet that I did not expect to be in. I remained here; and a few minutes later you arrived, commissioner.”

“Very good,” decided Barth.

“We’d better talk to the house dick,” suggested Cardona. “Put him wise to the situation. He’s probably down in the lobby.”

“Very well,” agreed Barth.

“Where is the telephone?” asked Joe.

“Through there,” replied Monte, pointing to a door.

Cardona went into a little hallway. He noticed three doors. One was open. Cardona saw that it was a bedroom, with a telephone on the table. He called the lobby, inquired for the house detective and ordered the man up to 1228, the number of Ranaud’s suite.

JOE recognized the dick when he arrived. The fellow’s name was Lennis and he was an experienced man at hotel work. Briefly, Cardona explained the situation. Lennis started back for the lobby, after promising to keep watch on all who entered.

Just as the detective’s elevator reached the lobby, the door of another car clanged. Thus Lennis failed to glimpse a face that he might possibly have recognized. Ruke Perrin, missing racketeer, had gone aboard that car.

At the desk, Lennis inquired concerning new guests. There had been an influx during the past half hour.

Some twenty persons had registered. Three had been placed on the twelfth floor. The clerk recalled that one man had specifically wanted a room on the twelfth. But he did not remember which of the three it was; and he had noted nothing suspicious about any of the three.

Lennis studied names on the registration cards. He decided that nothing was wrong. Taking a position where he could view the revolving doors on two separate streets, the house dick waited and assumed a wise expression.

MEANWHILE, Ruke Perrin had reached the door of Room 1216. He rapped softly. The door came ajar. The racketeer thrust his hand into the opening and displayed a Chinese disk. The door opened; Ruke stepped into a dim room and closed the door behind him. He stood face to face with Diamond Bert.

“Quick work,” commended the crook. “Looks like we’re all set. But let’s get it straight before we start. Monte called you right after he got here. Is that right?”

Ruke nodded.

“Then I happened to call you to say that I’d ducked The Shadow. He got the guy that was with me. Never mind who. Down at the hideout. You told me Monte was here and that Ranaud had the sparklers.”

“Right,” agreed Ruke, “and the next thing I hear is when you called me to say you were in Room 1216 at this hotel. Say, Bert — you work swift.”

“I was over by Grand Central,” chuckled Bert. “Checked one bag there and took another out. I’ve got other bags planted places, too. Didn’t have time to bother with a disguise. All my make-up is in other bags. Just wanted a big suitcase to check in here with.

“But here’s the lay” — the crook blinked, then became harsh — “and it’s a tough one. As soon as I’d checked in, who showed up but Joe Cardona and Markham. I spotted them through the transom. I heard what they said, too. Commissioner Barth is in there. He was the fellow that sent for them.”

“Three of them, eh?” commented Ruke.

“Four,” replied Bert, “counting Ranaud. But we’ve got Monte. And what’s more, we’ve got a real bet. The house dick came up and then went down again. I guess they wouldn’t be surprised if he came back.”

“That might mean more trouble for us.”

“Not a bit of it. That’s our bet. We’ll tap on the door; they’ll think it’s the house dick, coming up to tell them something. Get the idea? But before we start — what about the mob?”

“All set, unless I make a call to Jigger. He’s the lookout, planted over at a hash house, across the street.”

“How long did you give them?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“We’d better move.”

Diamond Bert produced a .38. Ruke did the same. Bert unlocked the door of the room and motioned Ruke to follow him into the hall. They crept to the door of Ranaud’s suite. Diamond Bert tapped, copying the knock that Lennis had given.

INSIDE the room, men exchanged sudden glances. Since Lennis had left, Joe Cardona had made a new suggestion. He had formed a plan to be used should any one knock at the door. Wainwright Barth had approved the suggestion. He was the first to act.

The commissioner strode to the door and rested his hand on the knob. Cardona and Markham produced their revolvers and aimed for the doorway. With a dramatic gesture, Barth yanked open the door, stepping back as he did so.

FACE to face, muzzle to muzzle, two detectives were facing two crooks. Cardona and Markham were ready; so were Diamond Bert and Ruke. Both sides were momentarily startled. It was a stale-mate for the instant. Then, before any one could fire, Monte Agland snapped a brisk command.

“I’ve got you covered, Cardona,” he announced. “You too, Markham. Drop those rods before I plug you.”

The tone was businesslike. Turning, the detectives saw that they were covered. They were forced to release their guns. Monte kept a drawn revolver toward them, while Bert and Ruke took charge of Barth and Ranaud.

Diamond Bert Farwell chuckled. His tone carried an evil sneer. He closed the door and made the prisoners back over to a corner. He spied the bag of diamonds on the table and was about to reach for the prize when a sound deterred him.

The telephone was ringing from the bedroom. Diamond Bert hesitated; then motioned to Monte. The young man nodded. While Bert and Ruke covered the men in the corner, Monte started for the telephone. He closed the door behind him. The ringing ceased; then Monte returned and poked his head from the door.

“It’s the house dick,” he informed, in a whisper. “Wants to talk to Cardona. Says a couple of tough looking mugs just came up in the elevator.”

“Some of your mob, Ruke,” growled Diamond Bert. “Sort of clipped that fifteen minutes short, didn’t they? Where are they going? To my room?”

Ruke nodded.

“Go back to the phone,” said Bert to Agland. “Tell the dick that Cardona wants him up here. Tell him to make it snappy.”

Monte nodded. Diamond Bert was growling when he returned to say that Lennis was starting up.

“All right,” decided Diamond Bert. “Stick that bag in your pocket Monte” — he paused while his minion plucked the bag of diamonds — “and slide over to 1216. Flash the disk on those mugs of Ruke’s. They’ll be in the room. I left the door open.

“Have them grab the house dick when he comes by. Tie him up and gag him. Then bring the mob over here. We’ll let them hold these cuckoos while we move out with the swag. I’m letting you hang on to it for the present, Monte. It’s better in your pocket than in here.”

The big shot nudged his thumb toward the door. Monte hastened out into the hall. Diamond Bert, with only occasional blinks to mar his steady gaze, maintained his close watch on the captured men. Ruke Perrin did the same.

MONTE had closed the door behind him. He had reached 1216 and shown his disk to a quartette of mobsters. One gorilla was watching through the transom. He announced the approach of Lennis and scrambled down from the chair on which he was standing.

Monte opened the door, just as the house dick passed. Two gangsters grabbed the detective, muffled his shout and drew him back into 1216. Monte closed the door while the gorillas bound and gagged the dick.

The corridor was gloomy and deserted. Then, amid the brief interlude came the clang of a distant elevator door. Half a minute passed. Something appeared within the corridor. It was a shape of blackness that materialized into a swiftly stalking form. The Shadow had reached his destination.

The spectral arrival passed the door of 1216. He reached the door of Ranaud’s suite and paused.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, The Shadow turned the knob. He pressed the door a fraction of an inch, so that the knob remained unlatched. Bringing two automatics from beneath his cloak, he pressed the door with his foot and sent it inward with a rapid swing.

Diamond Bert and Ruke Perrin turned. Their guns were still covering the men in the corner; but their eyes saw The Shadow. Confronted by this unexpected menace, they wheeled to fire their revolvers. It was then that things happened.

Automatics thundered. Ruke Perrin swayed; his revolver wabbled in his hand. But Diamond Bert Farwell managed to zim a quick shot past The Shadow’s shoulder. For Diamond Bert, in whirling, had ducked beyond Ruke’s body. The racketeer had proven a human shield.

Both of The Shadow’s bullets had clipped Ruke. The racketeer was toppling and Diamond Bert, with one shot fired, was a target. But others unwittingly saved the arch-crook’s life as they intervened, intending to give aid.

Cardona and Markham were pouncing upon Diamond Bert. They downed the crook and tried to snatch away his gun. The Shadow could not fire into that milling trio. Moreover, he sensed new foes coming.

Shots burst from the door of Room 1216. The Shadow sprang into Ranaud’s living room as bullets whistled their opening message. Howling mobsters followed, four in a squad, thinking that The Shadow had fled. But as they swept up to the open doorway, they learned their error.

The Shadow had wheeled. Just as the mobsters arrived, he came swinging from the room. His automatics pumped hot metal squarely into the group, so close that the spitting flame singed the clothing through which the bullets passed.

Meeting the impact of the four-man horde, The Shadow was hurled backward in the corridor.

Surprisingly, he sprawled beneath the heap of lunging gorillas, whose trigger fingers were still acting though guns had fallen from their hands.

The Shadow, literally, had been downed by a squad of dead men! His guns were still roaring as he lost his footing. Rolling forms, convulsive bodies, those were the forms that he had met en masse. Piled high upon The Shadow were enemies whom he had banished from the ranks of the living, but whose plunging corpses had kept on coming as a result of the maddened charge!

THE SHADOW had met four — not five. Monte Agland had not joined the wild rush. He had sped in the opposite direction, heading for the elevators, anxious to get away with the swag. He had resolved upon that course the moment that the first shots resounded.

Now, from Ranaud’s living room, came another fugitive. Diamond Bert, fighting like a fiend, was dragging Cardona and Markham out into the hall, before Barth or Ranaud could render aid.

Breaking free, the crook dashed madly down the corridor, while Joe and Markham, gunless, traveled at his heels. At the turn, Diamond Bert fired a shot that clipped Markham in the shoulder. As Cardona knocked the crook’s gun from his hand, Farwell delivered a haymaker to Joe’s jaw.

The Shadow was coming to his feet, hurling aside two dead men who had pinned him to the floor, by weight alone. Diamond Bert, grabbing his gun from the floor, made a lucky dive for cover, just as The Shadow opened fire.

Dashing to the elevators, the crook was just in time to find a car door open. He leaped aboard, covered the operator and told him to let the elevator drop. The doors clanged just as The Shadow arrived in quick pursuit.

Another car stopped three seconds after The Shadow pressed the button. Like the first it was empty, except for the operator. The startled elevator man obeyed as The Shadow gave the order to descend.

Again, Diamond Bert Farwell was at large. Once more, luck had been with the supercrook. Though The Shadow was close at his heels, Diamond Bert had gained the start he needed.