window and entered the laboratory.
He needed no flashlight for the work that lay ahead. About the lab were tables. The drawers
contained papers—formulas, typewritten instructions— that were of little consequence. An
intruder, however, might have found them worthy of inspection. Opening the various drawers,
Harry removed the papers and scattered them about.
There was a file cabinet in the corner. Harry approached it in the dark and opened the
topmost drawer. He removed several files, let their papers scatter; then took another sheaf
and raised it to the top of the cabinet. In three minutes, Harry had given the appearance of a
quarter hour search. He was ready for the finish.
On top of the cabinet was a rack of test tubes, several beakers and a hydrometer jar. The
last named was a tall object, easily toppled. Thrusting a stack of papers along the top of the
cabinet, Harry deliberately knocked over the hydrometer jar, which he could barely see in the
semidarkness. The glass object toppled against the rack of test tubes.
With a final push, Harry sent the jar and the tubes clear of the filing cabinet. The wavering
hydrometer jar took along a beaker; the entire lot went crashing to the stone floor of the
laboratory.
As the crash was sounding, Harry was diving for the window. He sent a chair skidding
against a table; another jar toppled and rolled to the floor. Then Harry was through the
window, heading back across the inner court.
AS he gained his own room, Harry pulled in the grating and lowered the sash. Amid the
clatter of his fake typewriter, he could hear the sounds of scuffling feet from the outer hall.
At the table, Harry never bothered to turn off his machine. He simply yanked the cord from
the floor plug, dropped it in the box and shut the lid. The interruption of the current stopped
the ticks of the fake typewriter.
Next, the door. Harry reached it just in time. He pressed the light switch, turned the knob and
opened the door. Wilkins was already on the threshold, coming to summon him to join the
others. The rest of the men had headed for the lab.
"Come along, Vincent," ordered Wilkins, in an excited tone. "We're heading for the lab."
"What's up?" inquired Harry, as they started along the hall.
"Didn't you hear the glassware smash?" returned Wilkins.
"No," responded Harry. "I was typing; then I heard you fellows shouting out here."
"That's right," nodded Wilkins. "You wouldn't have heard the noise from the lab. I remember!
I heard your typewriter clicking away. Before the noise came from the lab—and after that,
too."
Harry smiled to himself as they reached the door of the laboratory, where the two patrolling
men had used a key to enter. His first task had been accomplished. He had started trouble
here at Cedar Cove.
Yet, with it, he had established a perfect alibi. Wilkins had already put himself on record as a
witness to the fact that Harry had been working when the crash sounded within the
laboratory. The Shadow's plan had worked.
Confident that his own part in the game would never be known, Harry Vincent entered the
laboratory along with Wilkins. There they joined the half dozen men who were already
speculating on what had become of the mysterious intruder.
CHAPTER VIII. THE CONFERENCE
IT did not take long for the warning of a marauder to spread about the headquarters at
Cedar Cove. The alarm was passed to guards outside the buildings. Wilkins ordered a
prompt search of the entire premises.
All the while, the men remained in pairs. Wilkins had a teammate, like the rest, a fellow
named Holgate. The two remained on guard in the laboratory after the others had set out to
look for the intruder. Harry remained with Wilkins and Holgate.
While these three were looking about the laboratory, Commander Joseph Dadren entered.
He had been summoned from the boat house.
The arrival of the skipper brought a prompt report from Wilkins, who accounted for every one
in the place. Holgate seconded all of the statements. Both men mentioned that Harry had
been working on the typewriter.
Pair by pair, searchers and guards returned. All made their reports. No trace had been
found of any intruder. Dadren sent the men back to their posts. Leaving Harry in the
laboratory, he went into the inner office. He returned, wearing a satisfied smile. Harry knew
that he had found the plans still safe.
"Everything is all right, sir?" questioned Harry.
"Yes," returned Dadren, dryly, "except for the fact that some one actually broke into the
laboratory. That is serious enough. Don't you think so, Vincent?"
HARRY studied the commander. Dadren was a tall, wiry man, whose weather-scarred face
marked him as a sea dog. Blunt featured, square-jawed, he was a type of person who dealt
in facts. His inventive genius lay chiefly in his ceaseless experimenting and his
perseverance. The commander was a man who seldom deviated from a fixed purpose.
Harry knew that. He realized, also, that he must use tactful methods in suggesting that new
danger might be encountered. Dadren was a fearless man. The simple suggestion that
Dadren should postpone his trip would not go far. Harry used the commander's question as
a wedge of another sort.
"I think it is serious," agreed Harry. "Look about, sir, and see for yourself. That fellow must
have been mighty anxious to get in here, the way he chewed up those wires."
"He blundered, though," remarked Dadren, looking about the room. "Knocking over a lot of
glass looks like the work of some ordinary miscreant."
"I don't agree, sir," put in Harry. "I think the man was working in the dark. He may have seen
the light in my room, where I was at the typewriter. He was probably afraid to use a flashlight,
while somebody was about."
"But why should he have searched the laboratory? If he came here after my plans, he should
have known that they were in the office."
"I don't think so, sir. This is your private lab. He found papers here. He would have been a
fool not to inspect them first. He probably used a flashlight for that, keeping it well guarded."
"But what about the filing cabinet?"
"He made a natural mistake there. Opening the drawer without the light, he may have set
some papers on top in a perfectly off-hand manner. That could have started the crash."
The commander nodded. He was half convinced. Harry put in another thrust.
"The fellow's get-away," he said, "is proof that he was no apprentice. He made his way out
of the court, even while the alarm was on."
"That is true," nodded Dadren. "He came in, too, while the place was guarded. Over the roof
was the only way."
"Unless he started from the inside," suggested Harry.
The commander stared steadily at his secretary. Harry met the gaze unflinchingly. He saw a
troubled look cloud Dadren's face.
"I take it, Vincent," he said, dryly, "that we have a spy in our midst."
"Maybe two, sir."
"Two?"
"Yes. The men are paired."
"I see"—Dadren was nodding slowly—"yes, Vincent, your point is well chosen. At the same
time, I doubt it. I took great care in teaming up my men. I doubt that any one man could
induce another to act as his accomplice."
THERE was a pause. Harry saw Dadren look to the door of the inner office. The
commander had locked it after coming out. Harry saw a new chance to talk.
"I mentioned a possibility, sir," he said. "I do not think it would be wise to ignore it. You can
never trust too fully in the men whom you choose. In fact, that was why you obtained me
through Professor Whitburn."
"Did Whitburn tell you that?"
"Yes. He said that you wanted a first-class recommendation before taking any one into your
employ."
"I wanted you for a secretary, Vincent. That was a more important post than any other. I had
men whom I could trust; but they were not qualified for the job."
"I know that, sir. Don't think that I am trying to belittle any of the men who were here when I
came. I am merely speaking of my own experience."
"With Whitburn?"
"Yes. I worked for him once, when he was developing his aerial torpedoes. He thought that
all of his men could be trusted. He was wrong."
"Suppose I change the men about," suggested Dadren, in a tone that indicated a
willingness to receive advice. "If two of them have conspired, they would be separated."
"That might end trouble here," agreed Harry. "In fact, it would certainly put a quietus on their
game."
"I shall do it," declared Dadren. "To-night, Vincent, I shall prepare the new list and give it to
you in the morning. If spies are present, their efforts will be nullified."
"Except for one point," put in Harry. "The most important point, commander."
"What is that?"
"They will have no further purpose here."
"Why not?"
"Because the plans will be gone. You are taking them to Washington."
"That is a point, Vincent. Well, that makes it all the better. They made their attempt to-night.
They failed. There is no cause for further worry."
"There is every cause for worry, Commander."
Dadren looked at Harry in surprise. The commander thought that his final statement had
settled the matter. Harry had reopened the question. What was more, he spoke with
assurance; for he felt certain that the trend was turning the way he wanted it.
"To-night was the beginning, sir," stated Harry, in a serious tone. "The beginning—not the
end. An attempt was made to steal the plans for your new submarine. That attempt will be
repeated."
"Not here, if I have taken the plans away."
"That is exactly what I fear. An attack made elsewhere might succeed. You are heading into
danger, sir. Grave danger, as to-night's episode proves."
"I do not fear danger, Vincent. It cannot be avoided."
"It can. Most effectively."
"How?"
"By keeping the plans here."
THE commander stared at his secretary. Harry's suggestion seemed preposterous to
Dadren. Shaking his head, the naval officer spoke emphatically.
"I am taking those plans to Washington, Vincent," he declared. "They are ready to be
delivered to Senator Releston. After he has seen them and approved, they will go directly to
the Navy Department."
"I advise a postponement, sir," returned Harry, boldly. "Put the men on new shifts. Keep the
plans here. Bait those spies. Make them reveal themselves -"
"Enough," interrupted Dadren. "You are here to take orders, Vincent - not to give them. Have
you completed those letters I gave you this afternoon?"
"Not quite, sir."
"Finish them. I shall be in to sign them."
Dadren's tone was terse. Harry acknowledged the order; then left the laboratory and went
back to his office. He was determined that when Dadren came to sign the letters, he would
bring up the subject once again. At any cost, the commander must be prevented from taking
the plans to Washington.
Harry looked glum when he reached the big hall. Wilkins was at the fireplace; the fellow
arose and followed Harry into the little room. He watched Harry sit down at the typewriter to
finish the half-completed letter.
Wilkins suspected nothing. He merely wanted to talk about Commander Dadren. Wilkins
was afraid that the skipper would be wrathful because the unseen intruder had escaped.
Harry assured him that Dadren was calm. Wilkins went out and Harry resumed his typing.
TEN minutes later, Commander Dadren appeared carrying a letter file. He closed the door
of Harry's room and stood by while his secretary completed the typing of the last letter. He
wrote his signature on the different letters that Harry had typed. Then he opened the folder
that he had brought with him. From it, he removed a large, flat envelope. He placed the
envelope on the table beside the typewriter.
"Vincent," remarked the commander, quietly. "I have been thinking over what you had to say.
I am beginning to agree with you. There is danger ahead. I do not fear it; but that is no
reason why I should jeopardize my invention.
"This envelope contains plans for the new submarine. It is to be delivered, unopened, to
Senator Releston, in Washington. But I do not intend to take it on my flight to-morrow
morning. I shall carry a portfolio that will apparently contain the plans. This envelope,
however, will be in your briefcase.
"To-morrow morning"—the commander's voice was scarcely more than a whisper—"I shall
will know. But I am counting upon you to carry the envelope to Senator Releston. Deliver it to
him the morning after your arrival, unless you hear from me in the meantime."
"Very well, sir," agreed Harry.
"I have great confidence in you, Vincent," added Dadren. "Particularly because you were
recommended by Professor Whitburn. I liked the way you spoke to-night. You went beyond
your province; but you gave me something to think about.
"You are right when you believe that I may be the target of the enemies who failed in
to-night's plot. They will never suspect that I turned this important envelope over to you. Lock
it up in your table. Keep it there until you leave."
With this admonition, the commander turned and opened the door. As he stepped into the
hall, he swung about and spoke to Harry in a matter of fact tone.
"Don't forget to include my forwarding address," he said. "Put it in every letter, Vincent. Then
go over those expense sheets and check the figures. I want to find out exactly where the
errors lie. File all my old correspondence. I want all that done before morning."
The commander walked away. Harry feigned dejection as he stood in the doorway. Wilkins,
at the fireplace, noted Harry's expression.
"Did the skipper hand you extra duty, Vincent?" questioned Wilkins.
"I'll say he did," replied Harry. "I've checked those expense sheets three times. Five dollars
and thirty-two cents is the error that shows up. I'd rather pay it out of my salary than bother
about finding it."
"Tell that to the skipper," laughed Holgate, who was seated beside Wilkins.
"Maybe I will," growled Harry.
Returning to his room, Harry closed the door. He left the light on while he locked the big
envelope in the table drawer. Then, as an afterthought, he opened the door and began to go
over expense sheets, at the table, where men in the hall could see him.
HALF an hour passed. The men
turned off the radio and headed for their rooms. Ten
minutes after all were gone. Harry closed the door and extinguished the light. He was sure
that no one suspected the important part that Commander Dadren had given him.
The Shadow's scheme had worked. Harry Vincent had done well in the emergency. He had
managed to obey The Shadow's order. He had prevented the plane trip with the plans. Yet
Harry was not quite sure that he had fulfilled the complete injunction.
Commander Dadren was flying to Washington, as scheduled. That trip had not been
prevented. Nor could it be. Further argument with the stern commander might cause trouble.
Yet Harry felt that he had accomplished the important part of The Shadow's order. The
plans, at least, were not going with Dadren.
The Shadow relied upon his agents to use their own judgment in a pinch. Harry Vincent had
played his hand with success. He had done the most within his power. To-morrow, a report
to The Shadow. Then to Washington with the plans that Dadren had given him.
CHAPTER IX. THE SHADOW STRIKES
ONE hour after dawn, Harry Vincent was awakened by a knock at the door of his room. He
answered the call, to find Wilkins and Holgate awaiting him.
"The skipper's ready to take off," informed Wilkins. "Wants you down at the cove, Vincent.
Says to bring along those expense sheets and whatever else you have."
With the order delivered, Wilkins and Holgate departed. Harry dressed hurriedly. He
unlocked the drawer of the desk and removed the envelope that contained the plans. He put
it in a briefcase along with other papers. Then he hurried from the big blockhouse.
Commander Dadren's plane was drawn up beside the boat house landing. An amphibian
ship, it was equipped to take off from water or ground. This type of plane was suited to
Dadren's needs, for the cove offered the only landing spot in the vicinity. Traveling to
Washington, Dadren would be flying over land; hence he could use any airport that he might
require.
The commander was standing on the planking by the boat house. Although attired in civilian
garb, he had the bearing of a naval officer. Harry, approaching, easily distinguished the
skipper from the rest of the crew.
Arriving, Harry noted Hasker in the amphibian. The mechanic was a heavy-set, rough-faced