The Fate Joss

CHAPTER XVIII THE ALLIANCE

“You have complimented me,” spoke Doctor Tam, with a smile, “on my understanding. Let me say, in turn, that your own knowledge of truth must far surpass my own.”

Watching The Shadow as he spoke, Doctor Tam could not restrain a blink when he saw the cloak and hat drop backward. For a moment, the physician stared in troubled fashion at the made-up face beneath. The sight of a yellowed countenance was unexpected. Oddly, it was The Shadow’s momentary laugh that relieved Doctor Tam.

“I–I had heard of you,” faltered the physician, “but I–I had not expected to see you as one of my countrymen. Your guise gave me my first pang of fear.” Tam smiled wanly. “Real fear, for my only enemies are certain men from my native land.”

“A fact that I have recognized,” declared The Shadow, in an even tone. “That, Doctor Tam, is one reason why I have chosen this disguise.”

“A fact that you have recognized,” repeated Tam, slowly. “Tell me, honored friend, what reasons made you know that crime was not my purpose? Circumstances have made many turn against me. The case of Hoang Fu, for instance.”

“Let us consider Hoang Fu,” interposed The Shadow. “It is said that he served you, Doctor Tam.”

“Quite true. But he had left my service—”

“Before he turned to murder. A fact which I knew must be a true one after Hoang Fu slew Chichester Laudring.”

“How did Laudring’s death indicate that?”

“Because you already had Satsu as your servant. Had you sought Laudring’s death, Satsu could have performed the deed with greater ease and less risk than Hoang Fu.”

“That is true. Yet it had not occurred to me that it would stand as indication of my innocence.”

The Shadow spoke again, his tone firm and deliberate.

“After my battle with Hoang Fu,” he declared, “I fought with five who had come to take the Fate Joss. They had entered Laudring’s house, like Hoang Fu; but they had not been sent there by you. Had they come from you, they would have traveled through the underground passage from the house at the rear. The passage of which Satsu knew.

“Moreover, those men spoke Chinese, not English; they were like one whom I encountered last night, in Chinatown. One who, dying, talked first in Chinese, but who, when questioned, said his name was Toian Soi; then, turning to English speech declared that he served Doctor Roy Tam—”

“Another traitor!” exclaimed Doctor Tam. “Another, like Hoang Fu; another such as Chang Look, who was with those you fought at Laudring’s. Trusted men have become deserters — gone to join Shan Kwan — deceived by the mandarin’s promises—”

“LET US speak for a moment of others,” suggested The Shadow. “Two of my men have been taken prisoners. Shan Kwan holds them—”

Doctor Tam interrupted by a shake of his head. He smiled pleasantly.

“It was I who captured them,” he admitted, “but they have not suffered. I told Noy Dow to treat them well. I was about to have them brought to me when you entered. Do you wish to see them at once?”

“Not yet,” returned The Shadow, his tone more deliberate. “It would be better first for you to tell me of the Fate Joss. It was taken from my control; and men who talked Chinese remained at its hiding place. Men who certainly served Shan Kwan; yet apparently the idol was gained by some one influencing my own men.”

“The ones that I hold here?”

“One of them.”

“Some traitor has talked to Shan Kwan. Some new traitor. Shan Kwan possesses amazing skill. He may have managed almost any game by proxy. I assure you, the men are safe. Noy Dow is the one upon whom I can absolutely rely.”

“Then let us resume. Tell me your facts; the reasons for your actions. Speak fully, Doctor Tam.”

The physician pondered, tapping the desk top. He was thinking back recalling incidents of the past. When he spoke in answer, his story proved concise.

“We of China who now live in America,” stated Tam, “compose two groups. One favors old traditions; the other calls for new. Each group has many honorable men; though their hopes differ, men of honor do not quarrel. Yat Soon, the arbiter, is of the old; while I am of the new. Yat Soon and I have always exchanged respects, even though our paths are apart.

“In each group are a few who have proven themselves unworthy. Such men are ones whom neither Yat Soon nor myself will tolerate. Yet men of evil, like the fox, are cunning. They deal in deceit, particularly with those to whom they are close. Such is the way of the mandarin, Shan Kwan; being of the old, he would seek to mislead Yat Soon.”

With this preamble, Doctor Tam paused. His square-jawed face was straight toward The Shadow; his eyes carried a convincing sparkle.

“BEING of the new school,” resumed Tam, “I have friends in many cities. Through those in San Francisco, I was informed long since that the Fate Joss from Jehol was in America, brought by a man named Chichester Laudring. For the idol itself, I cared nothing; but I feared the consequences should it fall into the hands of an evildoer.

“No danger could exist among those who believe in the new; who wish that Chinese in this country would assume the ways of America, instead of their old customs. For we of the new school seek to break down superstition. The danger could lie only if the Fate Joss were acquired by some schemer who retained and taught old beliefs.

“Soon after the Fate Joss reached America, certain of my followers deserted me. I questioned them in person; though they would say but little, I discovered that they had listened to the promises of Shan Kwan the Mandarin. His purpose, so I gathered, was to form a cult, with the Fate Joss as its center. He was leading his proselytes to believe that he would soon possess the idol; that through it, he would control the destinies of all Chinese in America.

“Through such a course, Shan Kwan could gain great power. He could break down all the progress that I have made. His recruits would come from every class. Wealth would pour into his coffers, yielded by honest Chinese who would fear the mandarin’s strength. To prevent such calamity, I used every measure to see that the Fate Joss went where Shan Kwan could not gain it.

“Through a friend in San Francisco, I gained the services of Satsu — not to injure Laudring, but to protect him. When Chichester Laudring took the Joss to Chicago, Satsu reported to another of my friends in that city. The idol was sold to a millionaire named Dustin Clabb. It was bestowed within a massive vault. I believed then that Shan Kwan could never gain it.”

Before he continued, Doctor Tam shook his head; his face was grave as he recalled the episode that followed.

“My man in Chicago was too zealous,” remarked the square-jawed Chinaman. “He and his friends watched Dustin Clabb after the millionaire had bought the Joss. Clabb must have known it and decided that he would be unwise to keep the Joss. He summoned Raymond Roucard, a man of doubtful integrity, and arranged with him to remove the Fate Joss. The deed was done so quickly that my friends could not follow; they learned only that Clabb had given Roucard the Joss and paid him to get rid of it.”

“The circumstances are plain,” stated The Shadow quietly. “The police are still perplexed about the house that Laudring occupied. They found a letter from a lawyer who does not exist, saying that the house was a gift from an uncle who has since been proven fictitious.”

DOCTOR TAM blinked at these details. The Shadow had gained them from Clyde Burke’s reports. The facts had not as yet been printed.

“Clabb does not own the house,” added The Shadow. “Roucard evidently knew of it and suggested that he would place the Fate Joss there. Clabb probably insisted that the idol be returned to Laudring anonymously.” This time, Doctor Tam nodded.

“That much I guessed,” he affirmed. “But when Roucard came to Chinatown; when he visited Shan Kwan, I knew that he was scheming to make extra profit through another sale.”

“Fifty thousand dollars was the price,” declared The Shadow. “That sum gained, Roucard bluffed Laudring into giving him the Joss.”

“You have learned much,” said Tam, with a bow. “I shall add the details that Satsu gave me. When Laudring found the Fate Joss, Satsu was with him; and Satsu was prompt to inform me of the fact. I sent men to the house — Tuan and Leng — that they might watch.

“Roucard arrived; his talk frightened Laudring. There was no mention of a price. The Joss was removed by Roucard’s truckmen. Tuan and Leng followed them to the old Calumet Theater. The Fate Joss and the War Dogs were left there, to be picked up by Shan Kwan.

“I acted promptly. My own truck gathered the crates before Shan Kwan’s carriers arrived. Tuan — Leng — and others — they served me capably by taking the Fate Joss and the cannons back to Laudring’s. Satsu unbarred the cellar while his master was asleep. He barred it after the Joss and the cannons were unloaded.

“Shan Kwan had no watchers at Laudring’s. I felt sure that he did not know from where the Joss had come. Satsu was to leave with Laudring the next day. All seemed well; but I had reckoned wrong.”

“Regarding Shan Kwan,” inserted The Shadow. “He had guessed that Roucard would keep the money. He also suspected the possibility of a double cross. He called Roucard while I was listening on the telephone. Hoang Fu, watching from outside the hotel, must have seen the lights that indicated Roucard’s return. Hoang Fu entered. He slew and robbed. He escaped me that night.”

“Hoang Fu was the last of my deserters,” nodded Doctor Tam. “He had acted strangely when I talked with him, early on that evening. Noy Dow saw me cross the name of Hoang Fu from my list.”

“With the money,” revealed The Shadow, “were papers. Hoang Fu took all from Roucard; Laudring’s address was certainly mentioned in the papers.”

“And they went to Shan Kwan,” observed Tam, “through Hoang Fu. That was the reason why Hoang Fu lurked at Laudring’s the next day, awaiting darkness so that he might kill. Others were ready to enter afterward, that they might search for the Fate Joss. Shan Kwan, regaining the fifty thousand dollars from Laudring, believed that Roucard might not have gone to the house at all.”

Aiding The Shadow, Doctor Tam was piecing new portions of the puzzling past. He had followed The Shadow’s lead; the facts were understood. In his next statement, however, Doctor Tam was apologetic.

“I DID not know that Shan Kwan had gained Laudring’s address,” he explained, in sober fashion. “Nor did Satsu. He thought that Laudring was safe. Purely by chance, Laudring discovered that the Joss had again reached his cellar. He wanted to call the police; Satsu went out, pretending that he was going to the precinct. Unwittingly, Satsu paved the way for Hoang Fu’s entry.

“Satsu talked to me. I told him to delay until my men arrived. He saw Shan Kwan’s searchers arrive and mistook them for my servants. He went back to the house; he saw you battle with the mandarin’s men. Satsu had intended to go straight to the cellar; it was the entry of five enemies — by the back door — that made him hide instead.

“My men — Tuan, Leng and the others — had experienced delay. Satsu was bewildered. Trapped by Cardona; learning that Laudring had called headquarters, he decided to tell much that he knew. He led his captors to the cellar, only to find that the Fate Joss had vanished.”

Gazing inquiringly, Doctor Tam saw the semblance of a smile upon The Shadow’s disguised lips. The physician understood that the Joss had been removed by agents of The Shadow.

“My men arrived in their truck,” said Tam. “The police chased them; they escaped. Satsu, believing that the law would consider his story false, was quick to make flight of his own. He came to me; his only clue was a conversation that he had heard a young man make, across the telephone.

“Words of a place some thirty blocks south. Between us, Satsu and I decided that it must be the Howland Garage. We watched there — with Tuan and Leng aboard the truck. We captured the two men who took it from the garage. I left them here in the care of Noy Dow, while Satsu and I drove the truck to Scranton. It was I who sent the telegram for which the letter called. The telegram signed Dyke.

“I wondered all the while why Americans would have served Shan Kwan. I know now that the two men were yours; had I known it last night, I would not have seized them. I intended to question them on my return. Haste was not needed; for if Shan Kwan held the Joss, long planning would be required to regain it.”

AS he finished his explanation, Doctor Tam pressed the buzzer twice. The door opened and Noy Dow entered, blinking anxiously through his spectacles. In that brief interval, The Shadow had again donned cloak and hat. Noy Dow saw his black shape rising as Doctor Tam moved upward from behind the desk.

“Lead the way, Noy Dow,” ordered Tam. “We shall visit the prisoners.”

Noy Dow hesitated; then opened the rear panel. He conducted Doctor Tam and The Shadow through a barren hallway and unlocked the door of the prison room. Entering, Noy Dow turned on the light. He blinked, staring in feigned amazement at the empty room.

Doctor Tam gasped. Trembling, the physician faced The Shadow. Like Satsu, with the police in Laudring’s cellar, Doctor Tam was fearful that his story would not be believed. He heard a grim laugh from The Shadow’s lips; a tone that was mirthless. Words failed as the physician tried to utter them; but his statement was unnecessary.

The Shadow’s eyes were fixed on the paling, square-jawed face. Keenly, The Shadow recognized that Tam’s terror was real; that it was the fright that comes to a man who has dealt honestly, only to find himself the victim of false circumstantial evidence. Solemnly, The Shadow spoke.

“Fear not, Doctor Tam.” The Shadow’s whispered tone was awe-impelling. “You have spoken truth. The fault is not yours. Come; let us return to your office. There we can learn the facts of treachery.”

Turning about, The Shadow stalked along the hall. Doctor Tam followed close behind him, wearing a strained expression. Noy Dow was last; in the gloom, the secretary’s face was twitching; but when he reached the lighted office, Noy Dow had regained composure.

His own display of nervousness had been unseen. Tense, yet alert, Noy Dow was prepared to tell a well-rehearsed story. One that he believed would deceive Doctor Tam, who trusted him; a tale that he was sure would bluff The Shadow, who trusted Doctor Tam.