The Fate Joss

CHAPTER XX THE LAST GUEST

DOCTOR ROY TAM was seated alone within his little office. It was the third night after The Shadow’s first visit; and the Chinese physician was busily engaged in studying papers that lay before him. A knock at the door caused him to give an order. The portal opened and Tuan entered.

“One more, Doctor Tam,” announced Tuan, placing an envelope upon the desk. “It came to my little restaurant, like the others. Brought there by Leng.”

“Excellent, Tuan!”

Doctor Tam nodded; Tuan departed. Hastily opening the envelope, the physician drew out folded papers. As he spread them upon the desk, a gleaming smile came to his lips. Tam thwacked one hand upon the papers and reached for the telephone with the other.

“That is unnecessary, Doctor Tam,” came a quiet voice behind him. “A call would be useless, since I am here.”

Tam wheeled about to face The Shadow, who had entered, unnoticed, from the rear panel, just after Tuan’s departure from the front. Eagerly, Tam sprang to his feet and pointed to the papers.

“All is here!” he cried. “All that we need! Noy Dow has finally gained everything.”

The Shadow seated himself while Doctor Tam arranged papers all over the desk. Together, they began a study of the information, while Doctor Tam, unable to restrain his enthusiasm, kept talking of the facts that they had gleaned.

“Your men are safe, of course,” he said to The Shadow. “Noy Dow learned that the first night at Shan Kwan’s. His story went well with the mandarin: that I had learned of his treachery; he had been forced to flee. That was all he had to say.

“As you decided in our conference, Noy Dow was able to enlist Loy Ming’s aid in sending out this word. The girl has wisely built up the mandarin’s trust. She goes frequently on errands; but never far from home. Leng was clever enough to be waiting when she passed. He received each envelope unnoticed.”

“Noy Dow’s last message states that he received the package,” observed The Shadow. “That was well accomplished.”

“Loy Ming gained it this afternoon,” chuckled Tam. “The gold-leaved vases that Shan Kwan had ordered were ready at the store of the Cantonese merchant. Wook has been employed there. He placed the package in the largest vase. One of Shan Kwan’s servants carried it for Loy Ming.”

THE SHADOW was examining a chart that lay on Tam’s desk. This showed a complete diagram of Shan Kwan’s abode. Three floors, cellar and subbasement were all outlined in full detail. Doctor Tam checked certain points.

“There are four ways of entry to Shan Kwan’s,” he stated. “That at the front — the only one that is supposedly known — would be hopeless. Dropping barriers and trap-like floors are prevalent. They would cut off all escape.

“The way through the Ancient Chinese Bazaar is better; but there are men there who secretly serve Shan Kwan. They would offer resistance; they would spread alarm. The barriers that exist, though few, would hold back even a large attacking force.

“This third is but poorly guarded. One single barrier is all; though probably it is fitted with a signal. Shan Kwan relies upon its obscurity; for it opens into the unused cellar of a laundry. That obscurity would serve others, however. Others such as ourselves, who might wish to enter secretly.”

“What of this?” inquired The Shadow, pointing to a dotted passage that followed off from the subbasement. “It is not explained in the diagram.”

“This message mentions it. That is where Shan Kwan keeps his long, swift power boat. It is in a channel that leads to the East River. Should danger threaten, he could depart at great speed, carrying a few tons of valuable furnishings. That channel, however, affords no entrance. The boat is isolated, within barred iron doors. I have shown the way, here, through the laundry—”

The Shadow’s long forefinger moved across the chart. It stopped at the front entrance, the way that all visitors went to see Shan Kwan.

“You will enter there?” queried Doctor Tam, astounded. “Straight into the trap?”

“Yes.” The Shadow’s tone was decisive. “I shall come to see Shan Kwan as a friend. As one sent to him by Yat Soon, the arbiter.”

“You have talked with Yat Soon!”

“He has heard all. As arbiter, he can not move without a complaint from one who acknowledges his authority. On that account, Doctor Tam, he cannot hear your plea. He does, however, send you greetings, with wishes that you may live long and finally dwell within the tomb of your ancestors.”

“Old China,” chuckled Tam. Then, soberly: “Your path into the mandarin’s abode is prepared; but what of your departure?”

THE SHADOW considered the chart. At one place on the lower floor the diagram showed a row of rooms; it was in one of these that Harry and Cliff were kept as imprisoned guests. No other apartments were available for such purpose.

The Shadow started his finger from that point. He traced a labyrinth of passages, finally arriving at the underground temple. Doctor Tam watched The Shadow’s finger pause.

“These doors will be open,” declared The Shadow, emphatically, “for they are temple doors. Through the secret passage at the back of the temple, then to the side door that leads into the laundry basement.

“That shall be the mode of exit, Doctor Tam. While I am within, you and your men must be preparing. Strike through to meet us, aided by the two men whom I am sending with you.”

“Your plan is wise,” nodded Doctor Tam. “I would have said to go directly down the passage that leads to the side door; but I see that there is one barrier to conquer there. Unless it should be open—”

“It would not serve our purpose. We must gain the Fate Joss in this fight. That is why I have chosen the route through the temple. The rear portal will just be large enough to carry the great Joss through.”

Doctor Tam gaped in admiration. He had pictured a fight with minions of Shan Kwan; he had even hoped for a chance to deal with the mandarin in person. His imagination, however, had been limited to thoughts of rescue as the greatest culmination.

The Shadow was making an examination of notations that had come from Noy Dow. The secretary, apparently a convert to Shan Kwan’s cult, had been allowed to visit the temple. He had reported that the Fate Joss was standing on a teakwood pedestal, with a War Dog on each side.

“Noy Dow has done well,” commended The Shadow. “He did not forget to obtain the description that I asked, the exact condition of the Fate Joss — those thin, straight lines that cross the plugged muzzles of the War Dogs. He added those facts to the measurements that Loy Ming gave him of the rear door.”

The Shadow studied another paragraph.

“We are fortunate,” he declared, “to have gained news this evening. At midnight, Shan Kwan holds a meeting of his cult. The gathering will take place in his reception room, on the floor above the temple.”

“Which means,” assured Doctor Tam, “that a full hundred will be there! Shan Kwan has gained many listeners in Chinatown. It means also that your visit will have to be postponed.”

“It means,” pronounced The Shadow, with a mocking tinge, “that our stroke shall come this very night. At midnight!”

DOCTOR TAM stammered. He did not think The Shadow could be jesting; yet the suggestion of action at the hour of assemblage was the last possibility that he had expected.

“At midnight,” added The Shadow, firmly, “Shan Kwan will be occupied with his cult. The very fact that he has numbers will make him derisive of opposition. Moreover, he will not wish to bring these new followers into a fray. He would prefer to rely upon his servants.

“Most of them will be upstairs. Our work will be half accomplished before they arrive. Midnight, Doctor Tam, will be our hour. That is when you are to invade by the side entrance. Be careful to assemble your men quietly; because police are present.”

“My men are watching the police,” stated Tam, still lost in admiration at The Shadow’s explanation of his midnight choice. “My men, moreover, are of quiet, abiding nature. The very last whom the police will observe. Despite the fact that their leader — the famous Detective Cardona — is in charge of their forces.”

“The law will have its part,” assured The Shadow. “That will begin, once we have made our rescue. Have the truck in readiness for the Fate Joss, within the garage behind the laundry.”

The Shadow was donning his black gloves. A look of query came upon Doctor Tam’s face. Hopelessly, the Chinaman pointed to the diagram, his finger upon that block of rooms that flanked the chamber holding Harry and Cliff.

“Your stroke starts from here!” exclaimed Doctor Tam. “But how can you reach this spot? Once you begin battle with Shan Kwan, in his reception room, your path will be blocked by—”

“I shall not start conflict with Shan Kwan,” interposed The Shadow, with a whispered laugh. “I shall visit him as his guest. As his guest I shall remain.”

The cloaked figure swished through the opened panel, while Doctor Tam stood wide-mouthed. For the first time, Tam had realized the daring of The Shadow’s strategy. The Shadow intended to dine with Shan Kwan tonight!

As guest, The Shadow would experience the delights that gave the mandarin power over those who met him. Lulled and stupefied, he would sink beneath Shan Kwan’s power. Helpless in the mandarin’s control, he would be carried to the confinement of a prison like the one his agents occupied.

Yet The Shadow’s stroke was set for midnight; he had commanded Doctor Tam to attack at the same hour. For a moment, Doctor Tam felt doubt; his confidence in The Shadow wavered. Then came the realization that if The Shadow dared this venture, he must surely know that he could endure it.

Doctor Tam’s mind reverted to three nights ago, when that lone black conqueror had invaded this very room, herding a squad of temporary foemen beneath the muzzles of his automatics. That recollection brought a smile of surety; a nod of the physician’s head.

With The Shadow — so Doctor Tam was willing to concede — the incredible was possible. Despite the dangers that lay ahead, the odds that The Shadow must encounter, there was a chance of full success. Wild though it seemed to him, Doctor Tam could even visualize the recapture of the Fate Joss from Jehol.