The Shadow 114 The Strange Disappearance of Joe Cardona by Maxwell Grant

Author:Maxwell Grant [Grant, Maxwell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Street & Smith
Published: 1936-10-31T23:00:00+00:00

“I am not certain. But jot down your telephone number” - Grell motioned toward a pad that lay on the table - “I can keep it as a sure reminder to call you -“

“I have no telephone here.”

Grell’s eyes narrowed. The Shadow knew why. Grell had failed in his effort

to gain a specimen of Lenger’s handwriting. He dropped that endeavor rather than

arouse Lenger’s suspicion.

“I shall drop by again,” promised Grell. “If I can not stop off, I shall leave a note in your mail box. Good night, Mr. Lenger.”

Grell picked up his hat and coat. Lenger reached for his own frayed overcoat and derby.

“I’ll accompany you downstairs,” suggested Lenger. “I forgot to make some purchases at a drug store. We can chat about chess as we go along.”

The two left by the main door of the apartment. The Shadow listened until he heard the dull rumble of the descending elevator. Then he entered the living

room; there, he went to the bookcase and examined the tin box that Lenger had replaced. Thumbing quickly through the stack of chess clippings, The Shadow found that many of them were duplicates. There was one copy of the original problem that Lenger had answered in to-day’s newspaper; but no duplicate.

Newspapers were stacked everywhere on the floor. They showed gaps where Lenger had clipped chess problems. Many of the journals were from out of town.

Whether or not Lenger had other interests - murder, perhaps, included - it was certain that he was a true devotee of chess.

Most of the books on the narrow shelves were volumes that referred to chess. The bottom shelves were stacked with dusty magazines; beneath them were boxes of various sizes. As a result, the old magazines formed a wavelike line.

Carefully, The Shadow withdrew some of the boxes, so that he could examine them

without disturbing the arrangement.

Some of the boxes contained chessmen; others held articles clipped from magazines, referring to chess. A few were filled with miscellaneous items. It was in one of these that The Shadow made an important find. He saw a page that had been cut from a college catalog. It bore names of faculty members. Around one was a circle, marked in blue pencil.

THE name was that of James Ardess, the university instructor who had been one of the earlier victims of the purple death.

Beneath the torn page was a pawnbroker’s ticket. It carried the name of William Gringew. He was the pawnbroker who had been another of the mysterious victims.

Farther down, The Shadow found a business card, of neatly engraved pattern. It was old and dusty; the card bore the name of Frederick Tabor, with the title: “Architect.”

Next, The Shadow discovered a small-typed page, roughly torn from a copy of “Who’s Who.” Names on that page began with “R.” Among them, circled in blue pencil, was a brief biography of Trumbull Rythe, the financier who, like Tabor,

had been a victim of the purple death.

At the very bottom of the box, The Shadow unearthed a folded sheet of paper.

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