Читаем The Ghost Makers полностью

"What else did the chief have to say?" asked the rajah.

"He talked about the copper stock," said Slade. "It's going great guns. He's letting it out as fast as the brokers call for it. He says if it keeps on the way it's going now, he'll unload completely and start on another line."

"He'd better be thinking about it pretty quickly, then," declared Rajah Brahman. "When he dropped Consolidated Timber and started an Coronado Copper, it took a couple of months for the suckers to switch.

"They were still crying for the timber stock. That means a switch all along the line. Little Flower can't begin to change her tune overnight, and there's a flock of mediums working her overtime right now."

"He's going to speak to you about it," said Slade.

"Did he mention anything else?" questioned the rajah.

"Nothing of importance."

"Maybe he thought it would be best to keep quiet," said Rajah Brahman, "but it's up to me as well as to him. So I'm going to let you in on it, Slade.

"I was talking with the chief the other night. We were discussing that affair up at the Dalban. We thought — only thought, mind you— that maybe The Shadow was mixed in it."

"The Shadow!" exclaimed Slade.

A change came over the man's calm face. He glanced about him as though expecting a sinister form to emerge from the curtains of the anteroom. Rajah Brahman eyed his confederate closely.

"Did you ever see The Shadow?" he asked.

"No," returned Slade. "I don't want to see him, either! I've kept clear of him for a long while, Bert. They say he's uncanny — that he can be everywhere at once. I don't like it, Bert, if he's in it—"

"Don't talk foolishly, Slade," argued Rajah Brahman. "We're only discussing possibilities. It looks like The Shadow, and it doesn't look like him. That's enough, isn't it? All it means is to keep your eyes open."

"I'll do that, Bert! If I get the least suspicion that The Shadow is wise to anything, I won't be asleep a minute. I work smooth, Bert, and there's only one man in the country who could get on my trail if he ever went after it. That's The Shadow himself!"

"It doesn't concern you, at present," said the rajah quietly. "The Jacques affair was a mistake. It's not linked with any of your doings. I'm only telling you, because you're working in New York, right now. The Shadow doesn't fool around the sticks. Cincinnati — Philadelphia— all the rest of them. The Shadow isn't in those places."

"That's right, Bert," said Slade, in a relieved tone.

"I'm the one who must be careful," declared Rajah Brahman. "And I'm not worried about The Shadow. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind meeting him. If he's as slippery as they say he is, he'd be a, good assistant to use in the spook cabinet."

The tone of derision made Martin Slade grin. His momentary qualms were ended. He spoke reassuringly.

"You don't have to worry," declared Slade. "What if The Shadow should find out that Rajah Brahman was Bert Clutten? You've never been mixed up in the killings, directly. Neither has Tony."

"I said that I was not worrying," responded Rajah Brahman. "But I'm on the lookout, just the same. If The Shadow took a shot at the seance Jacques was giving, he may try the same with me. That's all."

"He can't do it, Bert," declared Slade emphatically. "From all I hear, it's beginning to leak out that the police are after a stranger who was at the Dalban seance. The rumor is that they think an unknown man killed Harvey. So that bird — whether he's The Shadow or not— will have to lay low for a while."

"That's what the chief and I decided," said Rajah Brahman. "But I have a different idea about it, now. I wouldn't be surprised if The Shadow should pop into my seance room any night. You know who's handling the Harvey murder, don't you?"

"Sure. Joe Cardona," Slade answered.

"Right. Where is he?"

"There's talk about him being away on leave."

"Right," the rajah responded. "Did you stop to think that this is an odd time for him to be away?" Slade became slightly nervous.

"You don't mean" — his voice was tense — "that Cardona might have got wise to the other rings—"

"Not a bit of it!" laughed Rajah Brahman derisively. "That flatfoot couldn't get wise to anything. At the same time, I'd rather have him here in New York than away."

"Why?" questioned Slade, in surprise.

"Because Cardona loves to kick up a fuss," Rajah Brahman explained. "If The Shadow is in this, playing a waiting game, he can't do much while Cardona is in town. Cardona would come blundering on the job as soon as The Shadow started anything. That's why I think there's a reason for Cardona's absence."

"You mean The Shadow?"

"Yes. I mean The Shadow may have decoyed Cardona somewhere. Unless — which is only one chance in a thousand — Cardona has really got a clue. But he can't get far with it if he has. It's The Shadow I think about — not Cardona-"

"I get you, Bert."