The Fate Joss

CHAPTER XIX THE SHADOW’S TRICK

THE SHADOW and Doctor Tam were seated side by side behind the Chinese physician’s broad desk. Like a pair of judges, they were awaiting others. Doctor Tam had sent Noy Dow to summon all the henchmen. Rigid, the Chinese doctor’s face was severe; but his pose was mild compared with that of the personage beside him.

As the door opened and Chinese filed in, their eyes passed Tam to waver at sight of The Shadow. Fully cloaked, his visage muffled, that judge was a being of blackness. Only the burning glitter of his eyes was visible beneath the shading of his lowered hat brim.

“Tuan — Leng — Fong — Wook — ” Doctor Tam indicated each servitor in turn. He pointed to the two outer guards whom The Shadow had first encountered; then named them: “Charn — Wahai.” Two others were present; one was Noy Dow, beside him was the Chinaman from the tea shop. Tam named the latter: “Wing Sook.”

Satsu entered just as Tam had finished. The physician pointed him to a chair; as Satsu took it, Tam remarked to The Shadow:

“Satsu was with me. He is clear of all suspicion.”

That statement given, Doctor Tam eyed the faces of the lined-up Chinese. Briefly, he told the cause for this assemblage.

“Our prisoners have departed,” explained Tam. “Some one of our band has aided them. We shall hear Noy Dow speak. Others may add words later.”

Noy Dow stepped forward and bowed. In careful, deliberate words, he told his story.

“All ways were guarded,” he declared. “Charn and Wahai held their posts. Wing Sook was present in his tea shop. I stayed a while in the Hunan Cafe; when I left there, I brought food and drink of varied sorts to the prisoners.

“They seemed peaceable, so I unbound them; but locked the door on my departure. They had provisions; they had no means of escape. I decided not to visit them again; for they could await your return, Doctor Tam.

“I came here to the office. I called Fong and told him to station himself within the portal that leads to the Hunan Cafe. He was there on guard when I went out last night. I passed the tea shop; it was locked and I knew that Wing Sook remained within.

“Yet on this morning, all came early. One might have gone to the prisoners and released them. How they could have passed the portals, I can not say. Unless one let them pass.”

Noy Dow paused. Wing Sook, his upraised finger trembling, was quick to speak in a quavering voice.

“What Noy Dow says sounds true,” the tea dealer told Doctor Tam. “But there was a way whereby those prisoners could have gone. After I went into my shop at dawn, men came to take away a shipment of tea boxes. This was after all present had arrived.

“The chests were ones that had been ordered. I gave no heed to their removal. It was afterward that other men came, Doctor Tam, to ask for those same chests. I thought that the new men were mistaken. They went away with their truck.

“To me has come the thought that there was no mistake. Those first men with their truck could well have come from Shan Kwan, the Mandarin, to carry away chests that held prisoners instead of tea.”

WING SOOK subsided, quivering. Doctor Tam’s cold gaze passed along the line. Harshly, the physician spoke: “Which of you turned traitor?”

No answer to the query. Tam’s fists tightened; he began to rise from the desk, when The Shadow clamped a gloved hand on his forearm. Doctor Tam sat down and blinked at his fellow inquisitor.

“None needs to speak,” whispered The Shadow, his tone carrying a taunting tinge. “There is an easier way by which our answer may be learned.”

Slowly, he removed his black gloves to reveal the white hands beneath. The girasol did not glitter; for The Shadow turned it inward as he took off the glove. That shimmering fire opal, The Shadow’s talisman, was lost from view within his palm.

A desk drawer was partly opened. With his right hand, The Shadow reached within it and dipped out a supply of loose coins that belonged to Doctor Tam. These were Chinese cash, thin brass coins with square holes in the center.

The money clattered, rolling on the desk. The Shadow gathered it; then divided the cash into little piles of six coins each, leaving a few disks extra. He beckoned to Satsu, who approached. Raising one stack of six coins between his left thumb and second finger, The Shadow dropped them into Satsu’s hand; then had the Korean clamp his other hand upon them.

“Are you the traitor?” queried The Shadow, in a sharp whisper.

Satsu stared, puzzled; but made no reply. The Shadow hissed a laugh; then spoke in quiet tone:

“Count the coins that you hold.”

Satsu counted the cash upon the desk. He spoke aloud as he did, counting “one — two — three” until he arrived at “six.” That was the last coin of the lot. The Shadow turned to Doctor Tam.

“Satsu is not the traitor,” he stated solemnly. “We know that fact; so I used him for the test. But if Satsu had been the traitor, those coins would not have remained the same. Let us see once more; this time with a different question.”

As he spoke, The Shadow slid the odd loose coins into his left hand and tossed them out of the way, back into the drawer from which he had taken them. That left only the stacks of six coins each.

In performing this maneuver, The Shadow added a touch that no one present observed. While the coins were in his left hand, he pressed one with his thumb and forced its edge beneath the girasol that projected from his ring. The coin remained there, loosely clamped. With his right hand, The Shadow beckoned again to Satsu. The Korean was ready.

AGAIN, The Shadow picked up the stack of six coins with his left hand. He held them between thumb and finger tip and let them drop into Satsu’s palm. The Shadow spread his fingers with the motion; the act released the extra coin from beneath the ring. Unseen, unnoticed, that one coin fell with the six. Satsu, clamping his hands together, became the unwitting holder of seven coins.

“Did you once serve a man named Chichester Laudring?” queried The Shadow.

Satsu understood that he was to make no reply. He kept his hands clamped and merely stared. Again, The Shadow turned to Doctor Tam.

“Satsu did serve Laudring,” pronounced The Shadow. “We know that fact. We shall find that the coins uphold it. There will be seven when Satsu counts them.”

The Shadow turned his gleaming gaze on Satsu. Carefully, the Korean counted the coins on the desk. He came to six; then found himself holding another. Satsu blinked as he uttered a surprised grunt.

Thronged Chinese had moved closer as they watched. From their lips came high-pitched exclamations of surprise. Doctor Tam noted it and nodded wisely. To a man, his servitors still possessed a nucleus of superstitious belief. They were impressed by this marvel, just as others had been swayed by Shan Kwan’s fables of the Fate Joss and its power.

The Shadow was beckoning. As each Chinaman approached, The Shadow’s long fingers raised a stack of coins and dropped them into a trembling palm. Instinctively, each fellow clamped his other hand upon the money. None were omitted. There were eight in all, including Noy Dow. Each stepped back, sober of expression, clinging tightly to the coins.

“Who is the traitor?”

The Shadow’s query was a hiss that brought shudders to huddled shoulders. Then came The Shadow’s own answer to his question:

“The traitor! His coins shall name him!”

The Shadow beckoned to Tuan. Shaking, the first Chinaman came to the desk and half opened his hands. He was about to count the coins when The Shadow delivered an order:

“Drop them!”

Tuan let the coins clatter on the desk. The Shadow stopped their rolling and spread them out for the count. There were exactly six. Scooping the loose cash, The Shadow swept them into the opened drawer.

Leng was next. He neared the desk, then opened his hands as if he had experienced an electric shock. The Shadow trapped the coins and counted them. Six again. The cash went into the drawer.

Wing Sook of the tea shop laid his hands calmly upon the desk and let his coins fall gently so they did not roll. He, too, had six. He stepped back with a relieved smile.

The Shadow motioned to Noy Dow, the next in line. Copying Wing Sook’s example, the secretary let the cash fall from his half-opened hands, then, with a confident grin, joined the other Chinese.

“Look, Doctor Tam!” The Shadow’s exclamation made Noy Dow stare. “See these coins that Noy Dow has returned. They are not six in number.”

“There are only five!” put in Doctor Tam, his tone perplexed. “Only five coins—”

“There stands the traitor!”

THE SHADOW’S accusing finger pointed out Noy Dow. A changed expression had swept the student’s bespectacled face. Noy Dow was cringing; half-faltering, he tried to edge toward the door. His left fist was closed, stealing furtively toward his pocket.

“Each had but six coins.” The Shadow’s sinister tone was almost a contemptuous sneer. “There was to be no seventh. Yet the guilty man believed there would be one coin more; for he had seen Satsu count out seven.

“I knew that whoever feared his guilt would also fear possession of a seventh coin. So sure was Noy Dow that he held it that he kept one coin within his left hand, thereby hoping to drop only six.

“Instead, he dropped but five; for six was all he held. He tricked himself into his own betrayal. Within his left hand, he holds the coin he stole from the six. That missing coin is the mark of his treachery!”

Doctor Tam came leaping from his desk. With driving hand, he caught Noy Dow’s wrist and forced open the student’s fingers. The stolen coin lay glistening in Noy Dow’s perspiring palm.

Realizing the folly that he had performed through his own tenseness, Noy Dow could only blurt a single gasp.

Dragging the guilty man to the desk, Doctor Tam waved for the others to leave. All departed, including Satsu. Noy Dow was slumping, moaning piteously. Doctor Tam settled him in a chair. When the student looked up, he saw himself faced by the eyes of his master; turning, Noy Dow shuddered as he caught The Shadow’s gleaming gaze.

“I–I gave up the prisoners,” gurgled Noy Dow. “I yielded them — to Shan Kwan — because — because of his niece, Loy Ming. She came here when I called her — they took the drink that brought long sleep—”

“Long sleep!” queried Doctor Tam.

“Yes.” Noy Dow steadied. “So they would not wake until this evening. Loy Ming has called me, telling me that they dined with Shan Kwan. Dined, though they believed that it was no later than morning.”

The Shadow’s burning gaze showed understanding. Cliff had called Burbank from Shan Kwan’s. That part was logical; but why had Cliff made false statements? Noy Dow’s next words explained.

“Shan Kwan had given them — given them the torture,” stammered the student. “The — the torture that is pleasant; that he calls the torture of delight. One man withstood it; he was given a drink that dazed him. The other — the other had drunk pleasantly. He had smelled the incense; he had heard the music. Both were sweet.

“Shan Kwan cajoled him. The prisoner told much; then wrote as Shan Kwan directed. After that, he called by telephone, repeating what Shan Kwan had said to say; believing that he was doing as he should do. Through that prisoner’s speech, guards were drawn away. Shan Kwan has gained the Fate Joss — with its War Dogs.”

DOCTOR TAM was seated with head bowed. Noy Dow’s treachery had crushed him. At last the physician straightened; his eyes glinted with just frenzy. But before he could loose a tirade against Noy Dow, The Shadow stopped him.

Strangely, The Shadow’s tone had taken on a gentleness. Its mild and kindly understanding astonished Noy Dow. Expecting condemnation, the secretary was amazed to hear The Shadow’s plea in his behalf.

“I suspected Noy Dow,” The Shadow told Doctor Tam, “but I knew you trusted him. That was why I wanted you to realize — of your own accord — what he had done. Sometime, however, acts are performed through fear. Not fear for self, but for another. Such deeds are not always treachery. Let us hear Noy Dow tell why he yielded to the command of Shan Kwan.”

Doctor Tam nodded slowly. His eyes lost their outraged glare. He, like The Shadow, gazed in kindly fashion. Noy Dow spoke soberly.

“I feared for Loy Ming,” he said, slowly. “Shan Kwan is powerful. Unless I aided him, she would have suffered. Had you been there, Doctor Tam, I could have told you; but your stay was too short to allow me time.

“While Shan Kwan holds Loy Ming in his power, she will suffer if she disobeys him. Not only that, he threatened to make me suffer if she failed him. I did not care for myself; but Loy Ming cared because of me.

“If I could find a way to release Loy Ming from her uncle — to protect her with no future fear, I would go through any ordeal. Shan Kwan has told me that I may come with him; that I may marry Loy Ming and dwell with them. But that will not be happiness, not while Shan Kwan still lives.

“I have listened to his words; but I was never more than half believer. Those who come to him are influenced by the compelling hospitality that he offers. Drink, incense, music — those delights control the senses and make men the slaves of Shan Kwan. Yet only those of less resistance — such as Hoang Fu — will become fanatics at the mandarin’s wish.

“To me, there is no such happiness. My love for Loy Ming counts more than all else. Should I dwell in Shan Kwan’s palace, my consciousness of his evil would bring me constant fear for Loy Ming’s safety. Yet I must go there; that I may suffer with Loy Ming.”

SINCERE were the words that had poured from Noy Dow’s lips. Doctor Tam sat stupefied. He was impressed by the student’s statements; and his feeling was one of utter hopelessness concerning the struggle with Shan Kwan. Then came The Shadow’s whispered laugh.

Doctor Tam stared, almost challenging; but his face changed as he heard the words that followed. With The Shadow’s speech came a solution that brought a firm smile to the physician’s lips, an expression which Noy Dow reflected.

“Noy Dow has spoken well,” pronounced The Shadow. “He shall go to live with Shan Kwan the Mandarin. His purpose will not be to suffer misery with Loy Ming. Instead, Noy Dow shall serve in the very cause which he approves.

“Your aim, Noy Dow, will be to gain the facts we need. To be ready for the stroke that we shall deliver. To serve in the rescue of men who are prisoners. To regain the Fate Joss that belongs in Jehol. When you have paved the way, Noy Dow, I shall visit the palace of the mandarin.

“I, The Shadow, shall come there to forever end the menace of Shan Kwan.”

Whispered echoes followed The Shadow’s forbidding pronouncement. Strange silence filled that little room where Doctor Tam and Noy Dow sat nodding, their unblinking eyes fixed steadily upon the black-cloaked visitant. The lips of both were firmly smiling, as hope of the future envisioned itself within their brains.

Doctor Roy Tam, honest in his efforts to aid the progress of his fellow Chinese, had reached the low ebb in his struggle against the evil mandarin, Shan Kwan. Even Noy Dow, the right arm of Doctor Tam, had yielded to the thrusts of the superfoe.

Had Doctor Tam learned this alone, he would have given up all struggle, gone into hiding to avoid Shan Kwan’s machinations. Incriminated in the eyes of Yat Soon, the arbiter, because of Hoang Fu’s murders, Doctor Tam’s only resource would have been in flight.

But such plight had not fallen. In face of all adversity, Doctor Tam’s cause had been revived. A counterstroke would soon be prepared, with Noy Dow as the instrument. The case against Shan Kwan had been established. The thrust against that fiend of evil was to be delivered by The Shadow!