A stranger alighted from the afternoon train at Culbertville. He was a dapper man of rather good appearance, his pointed mustache forming a thin black line beneath his aquiline nose. He glanced leisurely about him and looked with interest at the bus which was loading passengers for its trip across the mountains.
He approached as though to speak to the bus driver. Then, apparently changing his mind, he sat on a bench of the station platform. Even when the bus got under way, he made no move.
The stranger finished a cigarette, then strolled across the street and stopped to light another cigarette beside a parked coupe. Two men were seated in the automobile. The stranger noticed them as he raised his head.
"Pardon me," he said with a pleasant smile. "Which direction do I go to find the road called Mountain Pike?"
"Straight ahead," said the young man at the wheel of the car. "But if you are going up Mountain Pike you should have taken the bus."
"I realize that," replied the stranger. "But I can take the bus on its next trip."
"That isn't until late at night — half past eleven, to be exact."
"I'm in no hurry," said the stranger with a shrug of his shoulders.
"We are driving in that direction," said the man at the wheel. "You are quite welcome to go with us."
The stranger hesitated.
"You would be overcrowded," he said.
"Certainly not," came the reply. "There's room for three of us. Come along if you wish."
The stranger accepted the invitation. The man at the side of the driver shifted to the left to allow room.
"My name is Vincent," said the man at the wheel, "and this gentleman is Major Weston."
"Glad to meet you," said the stranger. "My name is Garrison Cooper."
"How far along the pike are you going?"
"I'm not quite sure. I expect to stop off at a road somewhere on the way. Let me think a moment — the name slips my mind."
"Ridge Road?"
"That's it. How did you happen to name it so quickly?"
Vincent laughed.
"We live near Ridge Road," he said. "We have a cottage about half a mile beyond. Would you like to run up and see the place?"
Cooper studied Vincent rather quizzically. The invitation had been given in a friendly, matter-of-fact manner.
"I suppose so," said Cooper. He seemed a trifle uneasy for the moment.
* * *
When the car pulled up in front of the cottage, Cooper was the first to alight.
"He's our man," whispered Weston.
"I know," replied Harry. "We must give him the information."
They ushered the newcomer into the cottage. The man's eyes expressed interest as he observed the wireless equipment.
"What's this?" he exclaimed. "A sending station?"
"Yes," responded Vincent.
"What is its range?"
"Only a few hundred miles. But we can receive from a great distance."
"Even from Russia," said Major Weston.
Wheeling about, Cooper stared at the Englishman. His face seemed excited; his hands and arms trembled nervously.
"Why did you say that?" he exclaimed.
"Because I believed it would interest you," said the Englishman. "Mr. Cooper, I am your friend. Like you, I have an interest in Russia." He drew a paper from his pocket and unfolded it before the eyes of the astonished guest.
"This came to me a few months ago," explained Weston. "It bears the seal of Prince Samanov."
Cooper seized the paper and studied it with eager eyes. He examined the seal closely.
"It is the same as the one I received," he said at length. "But why have you kept it? I destroyed mine. I suspected that there might be others, but I was not sure."
"Why did you destroy it?"
"Because I wished no one to see it. I read the message and remembered it. I received a second also. Did you?"
"Yes. I have it here."
Cooper uttered a sharp cry as he read the second message.
"You were told to come eight days ahead! My second letter set the meeting but one day in advance.
Tonight, instead of Wednesday. Did you go last Tuesday night?"
The Englishman shook his head.
"I learned that the second letter was a forgery," he said. "It was a snare to lure me to my death."
Cooper's face betrayed signs of fright as he sank into a chair. He listened intently as Hubert Weston told the story in terse, cold words.
"So you did not go!" exclaimed Cooper when the major had finished his account. "But what became of young Duncan? He could not have been foolish enough to have gone in your place."
"We fear that he was," said Weston in a hushed voice. "He has been gone one week. Gone — perhaps to the same death encountered by the other four. You and I may be the sole survivors. We are indeed fortunate."
"What shall I do?" questioned Cooper. "Stay here with you to-night? I cannot go alone."
"Stay here, certainly. That fits in with our plan. We attack to-morrow night. Three of us. We had hoped to have four — Duncan, as well as yourself. Even now we outnumber the two who are at the old ruin. I doubt that they have others with them, although there might be one extra man."
"The ape-man is powerful," interposed Vincent. "Do not forget that. I have encountered him."
"Why not go to-night?" questioned Cooper.
"We must abide by the decision of the man who is directing us. We are following our chief's plans."
Garrison Cooper nodded. Then he addressed Major Weston.
"It is fortunate, after all," he said, "that you kept the messages which bore Prince Samanov's seal. I destroyed mine for a very definite reason. I had received a letter from Prince Samanov some time after the Russian Revolution. It was a very personal letter, and in it were instructions to destroy it and all similar communications. I considered these last messages as similar communications."
"What was your connection with my friend, the prince?" asked the Englishman.
"I met him in France," said Cooper. "I loaned him a considerable amount of money, with no security other than his word. I supposed that at this meeting the debt would be repaid. I could see no danger in coming, but I did realize that there was need for secrecy, as Prince Samanov's agent might have had difficulty leaving Russia."
"Have you come far?"
"From Providence, Rhode Island."
* * *
Harry Vincent was busy with the wireless. Garrison Cooper was curious as Major Weston peered into the box that stood on the table. He waited until the message had been sent.
"What is that instrument?" he inquired.
"A static eliminator," explained Harry. "It was put in here the—"
"A very ingenious device," broke in Major Weston. "It was here when I came."
"Yes," agreed Harry. "It was put in here by Duncan and myself the night we first came to the cottage. It was part of the equipment."
He threw a thankful glance at Weston. Harry had caught himself just in time. Had he finished his sentence by saying "the night that Duncan disappeared," he would have revealed the fact that The Shadow had paid a mysterious visit to the cottage.
Bruce Duncan had described his adventure to Harry and Weston, during the rational moments that he had had. They realized the part that The Shadow must have played, and the wireless message the next day had explained why the new instrument had been added to the wireless set.
A reply came to Harry's message.
"Same instructions," announced the young man. "Let matters rest to-night. The fact that Cooper does not appear will not change matters in the least. The big event will be to-morrow night. Chefano must remain there to meet the agent of Prince Samanov."
"But when will that man arrive?" asked Cooper.
"We don't know. Possibly in advance of midnight. We are to receive our final orders to-morrow afternoon."
The three men drove to a town on the other side of the mountains for dinner. Harry advised against going to Culbertville. After they had made their trip, he urged his companions to remain in the new town during the evening. As a result, they did not get back to the cottage until after midnight.
"Well, that's over," said Harry as they entered the house. "I'm glad we were away from here at midnight. I was afraid one of you might have become venturesome — as we presume Duncan did."
"Poor Duncan," said Major Weston. "If he did fall into the trap, Chefano probably supposed that it was I. He may have been the fifth man that died."
Garrison Cooper shuddered.
"I was to have been the sixth victim," he murmured. "I am glad it is past midnight!"
Cooper was to sleep in the room which Duncan had occupied. Major Weston went upstairs, leading the way. Harry Vincent remained by the wireless instrument, apparently to make a final call.
He remained there for a full hour. Then he tiptoed noiselessly upstairs. He listened at the two closed doors — first at Cooper's, then at Weston's. Assured that both men were asleep, he retired.