Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 146 by Maxwel l Grant

Author:Maxwel,l Grant
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf

CHAPTER XII. THE VANISHED EMPEROR

ALVIN DRAME—The Face.

Master of wealth—master of crime. Incongruous though they were, the facts fitted.

In analyzing the methods of The Face, The Shadow had already recognized that he was dealing with more than a master brain of evil. The Face wasn't the sort of schemer who had thrust himself up from among a flock of big-shots, to overtower the rest.

The Face was a man of power and influence, who had stooped from a high level. Like a hidden manipulator of marionettes, he had attached his strings to big-shot crooks and had made them dance like puppets.

That process explained why The Face had so capably kept his identity unknown. The wealth of Alvin Drame told how he had built his invisible empire. He had bought out criminals in secret; by playing one against the other, he had gained the control he wanted.

Perhaps Drame had tired of philanthropy and had sought some other outlet. Possibly, he was trying to gratify an ambition for power. There was also a chance that Drame believed the theories that he had voiced—as The Face—to Harry Vincent. As crime's overlord, Drame had certainly shown his ability to control the underworld.

Such distinctions had no bearing on the case.

As The Face, Alvin Drame was ruthless. He claimed that crime's survival was necessary. From that starting point, there was no limit to the evil that Drame might instigate, if he so chose. The fact that Drame was The Face simply increased The Shadow's urge to break up the hidden empire that the false philanthropist ruled.

Viewing Drame's portrait in the light, The Shadow saw new tokens of Dulsingham's skill with the brush.

Whether still crooked or reformed, the artist had done an excellent job in fitting The Face's features to those of Drame.

The bulge of Drame's high forehead was lost under a swath of luminous paint. His narrow chin was lost, when he made a straight line across it. That accounted for the squarish effect when Drame appeared as The Face.

By keeping the luminous face well below the level of his eyes, Drame produced the hollow, skullish effect. A straight glowing streak down the center of his nose made it appear thin and narrow. Most

important, though, was the way he handled his lips. Dulsingham had done smart work in solving that secret.

Drame's own lips were serious; they were large, with slight downward curves at the corners. When he made up as The Face, Drame drew a straight line across those lips. It gave them a level, fixed appearance in repose.

When the lips smiled, the illusion came. The centers of the lips could produce a wavery bend. Those corners, barely tinged with luminous paint, were capable of a contorted twist that no ordinary lips could duplicate.

It happened that Drame had worn a slight, indulgent smile when Dulsingham had done the portrait. That was why the artist had been able to apply the ghoulish leer. Probably Drame had forgotten the portrait; for Dulsingham had started it before he went to prison. Hence it was Clipper Threeve—not Alvin Drame—who had heard from the artist, later.

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