Читаем The Ghost Makers полностью

Harvey, a confederate who supplied him with information, had carried the luminous knife. Seeing trouble, Jacques had raised his arms in the dark and had obtained the knife from Harvey. The medium's legs still remained bound to the chair.

When Harvey struggled with the unknown assailant whom Cardona knew must have been The Shadow — Jacques struck at the enemy. But a twist in the dark had sent the knife into the body of his own confederate. Losing hold of the knife, Jacques had quickly shoved the chair arms back into place. Cardona had missed the trick then. He saw it now. For The Shadow had left an arm loose for him to find.

Sensational headlines told of the raid at Rajah Brahman's. Castelle's mighty racket was exposed. The confession of Professor Jacques followed as a tremendous story. Cardona lifted the lid when he revealed the names of mediums throughout the country.

The greatest sensation was Cardona's statement that he had visited local psychic circles in various cities, and had seen their build-up operate. He had evidence and witnesses to prove how the racket had worked.

Coronado Copper was blacklisted. Castelle's new stock-unloading scheme was ended before it began. Millions of dollars were saved for honest people.

Acting on information from New York, the police of twenty-seven cities swooped down upon fake mediums who had been part of the nation-wide crooked outfit.

Desperate fakers were ready to fight back; but everywhere, the police were aided by mysterious long-distance calls that tipped them off when to attack.

Fakers scurrying for cover were spotted before they could escape. In St. Louis, a group of crooked mediums were ready with a death trap. It failed through some mysterious cause, and the desperate crooks attempted a get-away through a tunnel under the street.

They were stopped by a man in black, who rose like a ghost and blocked their path! With two threatening automatics, he held them at bay until the police arrived and captured them. Then the man of mystery disappeared, leaving no reminder of his presence other than a sinister laugh that rolled in hollow tones through the vaulted passageway.

The press of the entire country rang with praise for the police officials who had responded with such swift and effective action. Never before had the forces of the law acted with such concerted power. It seemed as though an unseen hand — amazing and mysterious — had acted with incredible precision against the Spook Ring. And that was as true as it seemed.

Detective Joe Cardona, for his work in cleaning up the murderous fakers, received the congratulations of Police Commissioner Weston. But well did Cardona know that he had played but a minor role. The Shadow, that mysterious battler against crime, had worked cleverly. And in the secret files of The Shadow lay the complete details of the racketeers' round-up, even information that the ace detective never dreamed of.

For The Shadow knew!

The End