The Shadow 005 - The Circle of Death

Who knows what evil clerks in the hearts of men. The Shadow knows. Blue Cold presents the Shadow, a mystery man who strikes terror in the very hearts of shopsters, lawbreakers, and criminals, ladies and gentlemen. When you hear the shadows blood curdling laugh, you can be sure that exciting entertainment will follow. And here's something else that you can be sure of. When you buy Blue Cold, you're getting the finest of Pennsylvania hard cold. The harmless blue coloring that identifies Blue Cold is your guarantee of clean, even safe, dependable heat. All went along, so don't take chances. Insist on Blue Coal as by name. Phone your lord at your nearest Blue call Deler tomorrow and we youre to hold on for John Barclay's important message at the end of this program, the plot murder announced for to day has been postponed today the Circle of Death. Oh Jack, that a delightful show. What a wonderful way to start our honeymoon, Darling. When it comes to shows and girls, I'm a swell picker. Now at me pick a nightclub. Oh exactly, Hey. Exactly, Darling. I think you're wonderful. I've never had any mom of time in. My life any. Well, things are pretty quiet around the theater district tonight. Bill, Yeah, pretty thin crowd. I don't blame folks for staying away after those three bombings and fifteen people being blown to pieces. I wouldn't be here myself if it wasn't the commissioner's orders. Same here, boy, has this town got the jitis? Commissioner Weston's hopping around like a cat on a hot stove. I hear the Midtown Associations is going to ask for his resignation if you don't catch the nut that's scattering bombs around here like confetti a New Year's Eve. A guy that's pulling these jobs sure must have it in for a lot of people. He's a real screwball, if you asked me. Look at the way he's always sending warnings to the newspapers before he blows another badge of but Destine's the hades. Yeah, and have you noticed he always ends his notes by saying, I hate crowds. Un this is the time that crazy group one he'd set off another blast. Maybe his watch is slow. Things are gonna pop if he pulls another job and kills any more people. Well maybe maybe all the cops have them scared off. Maybe maybe not. Still look at that Carlos for the race. I shall I strikes again five four day catch your pament. Read all about the man. It's horrible amount horrible. Since this is an insane Margaret crimes like is always on, turn on the radio, it's time for a news bulletin the switch and the dashboard the. Inefficiency of the police department. Tonight at Midtown Hall, a meeting of businessmen of the entertainment world and property owners is in progress. Police Commissioner Western has been asked to defend his department and produce results or resignment Washington d C. Now listen care to him? Yes, am, I I want you to go to that protest meeting right over there at Midtown Hall. Commissioner Western is speaking, and the crowd is pretty certain to Heckley's explanation of the failure of his department. To catch this theme. I'm curious. Here's what I want you to do. Keep quiet and watch your chance. Then I want you to cry out that Shadow could solve this crime without half trying. Aren't you flattering yourself? Never mind that, Margo, I have a very definite reason for doing this. The lot depends on your. Getting the crowd to take up your suggestions. I'll do my best. Demand. Then where are you going? I won't be far away. Hand me that leather case on them. Here you are, am I permitted enough womanly curiosity to ask what's in it? Just a little wire tapping device? Telephone? No. Now, Commissioner Western will be talking over the loud speaker system in midtown Hall. Don't be surprised if the shadow interrupts his speech. I remember Margot cry out at the psychological moment. Hundreds of lives depend on it. Come in. I have explained to you every available resource of the police department has been thrown into catching the speed our pomp scord just called the city. Every noble criminal with psychopathic tendencies has been rounded up. Fans questioned, Not one fragment of a bomb has been found, No buildings have been damaged, No one person has been singled. Out for death. This is not an ordinary crime. We are not sealing with an ordinary criminal. Alibi alibi. We've had enough. Fifteen people dead, fifty angled. You talk talk pisions and out of sandsting room. The whole season of. Kind of yes, this till resign why some girls let then appoint some of the predele the text the kind of act iforet strake. The man, the shadows be solved, this kind of that half tried. That's an idea. A shadow, that's the shat of a gam. Strike cases for you before, what's where's the colon in? You wouldn't have to do much to do a kind of coleman and the police has a shadow, and then what a collar chemist? You've got nothing into week? You'll wait a minute? Hold on, what makes you think this man who calls himself the shadow is interested in law and burner he does criminal of me? Yes, he's tipped us off a change of a leg, but it may have been to get rid of rival. We have no assurance he is in a criminal. Who tell. I, don't run my department that way. You're not running it at all. That's commemoral opinion. You're not running it. I was asked here to tell you what we've been doing. You seem to think my department works with a shadow. We don't. We never have. And as for the shadow and you, that partter can spread it all over the front pages. I challenged him to uncover one single scrap of evidence that my men have overlooked. I challenge the Shadow to find this mania. I am a shadow. I am that challenge commissional Weapons. I am working on the case. Gentlemen of the Prince, it will not be necessary for you to print the Commissioner's. Challenge, but you can print this challenge to the art scene behind the Brain of Terror. Drink this, gentleman. The Shadow will trap the mass killer if. He dares walk through the Central Arcade during the rush hour between five and six tomorrow night. Remember the Central Arcade between five and six tomorrow night. I dare him to come to walk through the Central Arcade. Let paper, don't make the fee, come and just masculine. That's on page for you. Master boy, boy y you here here, give me a paper, Give me a paper. Here's your two cents. Thanks, here's the paper. No, no, no, not that one on top. People, crowds have seen it. No, no, give me that one underneath. Okay, the customer is always right, your mass time. For the show. The Central Arcade tomorrow. So he's daring me, this shadow fellow. He knows I hate crowds, prowls, and people pushing and getting in my way, voices talking and shouting. I hate them. I hate them, and I'll show them. I'll show the Shadow Fellow too. I'll fool all of them. I'll accept this challenge. I'll be there at the Central Arcade, this Shadow Fellow. No I was there? Oh whoa well, No, after I've gone. Your orders have been carried out, Commissioner Western, good it better not being his slip ups. Two hundred patrolmen the station in the neighborhood of the Central Arcade. Fifty picked men of the Plane Clothes and bomb squad will be in the crowd. If there is a crowd, there'll be a mob after all the publicity. If I could get my hands on the Shadow, I'd wring his neck for this. Oh what time is it? A little after four? Sir? You better get down there pretty soon? Yes, sir? Shall I take that car? Sir? No, I've been waiting for this, and if it's who I think it is, Hello, Hello, listen to me shadow Now, Commissioner Western, you listen to me. I'm listening. Quick, colors, trace this car, yes, don't bother, Commissioner. You can't trace this car. I tapped a line just as I tapped the Midtown loud speaker system last night. Oh that's how you pulled that crazy stunt. You're a fool Shadow. Don't you realize you've endangered the lives of thousands of people? Thing will happen if you do not interfere. Don't take my orders from your shadow. You're not running the police department. I'm not giving orders, but I need your help. Just do one thing for me and you and not the shadow. We'll get the credit for the capture of the mass killer. Oh yes, well, what do you want? Just keep the crowd moving through the narrow arcade. Just keep the moving, keep the moving. Everything depends on that. What are you trying to do? Shadow? To find a needle in a haystack? A man in a million? You're han't a chance the maniac won't come. You overlook the fact that a dear is a powerful psychological magnets that no egotistical, crazed mind can resist. Just keep that crowd moving, Commissioner, keep them moving. When you start figuring ways and means to save money for Christmas gifts, fuel is probably the last thing that comes to mind. Naturally, you don't want to jeopardize the health and comfort of your family. But did you know that you can actually have better heat for less money simply by burning blue coll Here's why blue call is a rich Pennsylvania anthracite. The fuel at furnaces, space heaters, and cooking ranges in this part of the country were especially designed to burn, and while other fuel prices are advancing, the cost of anthracite is not. No wonder, thousands of homeowners are switching back to anthracite. No wonder. Anthracite is a fuel that is used for cooking purposes on the nation's cracked trains. They've tested all kinds of fuel and found that anthracite is far more economical because it burns long, steadily, evenly, with minimum drafts and less attention. Now, the cream of all Pennsylvania anthracite is blue coal. It comes from the minds of the famous Glenall and Coal Company. It's tested and rate tested for purity and uniform sizing. Blue coal is prepared. Especially for home use, and it comes in all domestic sizes, egg, stove, chestnut, and pea. So if you want clean, even the pendable heat at lowest costs, always order blue coal. Phone You're nearest Blue Coal Dearer. Tomorrow you'll find his name listed in the wheld to bayot section of your classified telephone directory under the name Blue Coal. Which block in the arcade? Keeping all of times? Almost up, Commissioner Western. Yes, two minutes to six. Oh, this is the longest hour I've ever spent in my life. Can you beat it? The way people have flocked here on the chance of seeing somebody else blown the bits by this maniac. It looks like the shadow is right, the way they've been swarming through this arcade. And watching each other like a bunch of wild animals. You see what happened to that poor guy with the Christmas box, and nearly killed him before we got him out. Oh he had was a doll for his kid. I saw it. All the times up, Commissioner, Yes, thank heavens. Any orders, huh, just keep the men on duty to this crowd thins out. They'll be going home now, Commissioned Western, What. Is it the maniac has been here? Look at this piece of paper? Where'd you get it in the arcade? He must have dropped? Oh what's it say, Commissioner? Tell that shadow fellow. I'll kill me a lot more people have eleven old o'clock tonight, the. Mod who I was afraid something had happened. Something has I've found the maniac. Thank heavens. Have you notified the police, Margo? This man is a fiend. If I notified the police and they bungle things, he might kill hundreds of people. This is a job that the Shadow must handle alone. But the mort is injerous. You might fail, he might kill you. Shadow won't fail, Margo. But if he should, it's far better that one. Die than hundreds. Please, they must be a safer perhaps, Margo, But this is the only sure way to end the career of this mass killer. Goodbye, my dear, all the mont. With lively honors. It comes a headquarters car. Yeah, it's Commissioner Westerns car. He's plenty worried about this maniac threatening to kill another patch of people at eleven tonight. Well, sure have to go out of the theater area to kill him. They won't let anybody in the district hear without a police permit. Wait a minute, here comes a guy. Hey you. You who me? Yeah? You? Where do you think you're going? I'm going to work, That's where I'm going. Got a permit, Got a badge, see says, I'm a night watchman. I gotta go to work. What do you watch? Where do you work? I watch things in the ground, dot down there, down where, down under the street, die down under the planks. Oh, I get a door. He's a night watchman down on a new subway that building. Hun, Yes, yes, that's it. I go down them steps every night. I go down them steps and watch. Well, why did you say? So? Get on with you? Get your watching? Thank you. Joe Tonetti is waiting for me so we can go home every night at ten thirty. I take from him the job of watching. Now, that's a job. I wouldn't want any fun. I'll oh, Joey, Joey Tonday, Joey, you can go home now. I'm here to watch you. Half a bait to speakerback fellow, you're a five minutes late. I want to go home. Here's the key to anything. Now you watch out. But don't you go to sleep. The police don't want to let me come to work, but I showed him the badge. You can go home now, Joey. I'll watch everything there see you in the morning. What aby by. Those people? So many people always pushing pushing me. But I'll show him. I'll fix some good. I'll kill him. That shadow fell, I'll show him too. No, no, no, I'm alone. It's all alone, Not quite Anton Spevak, You are not quite alone. I am with you. Do you hear my voice? Santon? Sure? Sure? I always hear voices in the dark on the street and here on the street where I watch every night. Yes, Santon, But you've never heard my voice before, have you? Oh? Maybe, I don't think so. What's different about your voice? It's the voice of the shadow. Oh, your pretty smart voice. How'd you find me? Where's that shadow? Fella? The newspapers talk about. I am more than just a voice, Anton Spevak, I am the shadow. You you the shadow? Yes? Yeah? Where are you hiding? I am hiding under the cloak of invisibility. You cannot see me because I have clouded your mind, so you cannot see that which is here. How did you get down here in the subway excavation? I followed you down the steps. Mm. How do you know where to find I. Picked you out of the crowd in the central arcade. How did you know eye was the one? Your eyes showed me? I knew then how much you hate crowds? My my eyes show you. Yes, you passed close to me as I stood in the shadows. The arcade is narrow. You didn't see me, hm, No one saw me, but I saw you. How'd you find out my name? I followed you to the place where you live. I found out you work here in the tunnels. Uh? Then then then then you you followed me here from my home tonight. Yes, Santon's feedback all the way. Mm. Good good. You're a very cover shadow. But but but you must go now. Let me do my work, my work, I I I ain't got much time, and I'll go quick before I get mad. Yeah, you're plenty smart, and I'm glad to know you, mister shadow. But but no, no, no, no, no, you have to go. Yes, I'm smart, but you're smarter. It's huh, it's bad. Let me stay. I want to learn. You can teach me things. Then maybe we can work together. You hate people too, Yes, I hate crowds. Let me watch you and learn. All right, I'll let you watch it. What are you going to do? You just watch what's in this shed? You see dynamite sticks and sticks of dynamite. Is this what you use to kill people with. Yeah, my pressures dynamite. They kill the crowds. I hate. See. Now look here here's a stick of dynamite or already refused. There's one, two, three, four, five and six six sticks of dynamite to go with it. Now you watch, see Shadowy, I tie them in a bundle. How do you take that dynamite to the place where you killed all those people? It's a block away. How do you carry it? That's where I am smarter than you, mister shadow Show me, I'll show you. Look. See it's almost eleven o'clock here. Here you see this little hook. I hope the dynamite to it. Then what wait? Wait you hear that are overhead on the boards. Yeah, well, if the light is red, it will stop right over our heads. Now listen there you see the light is red. Now now I take this crowbar and I've wop this letter. Come on, come on, you come with me. Yes, I am still here, although you cannot see me. Now you watch it. I pry the end of this plank back, and I hope the dynamite on the brake rods, and I strike a match and I light the fuse went and went when when the light changes, the car takes the dynamite with it, and when the dynamite explodes the block away. I'm still here while oh no, no, no, no, no you you put out the fuse. You've tricked me. And here it's the dynamite. He took it off the car. It's gone without the dynamite. And I promise I'd kill a lot of people tonight. Now I have to wait still tomorrow the crowds will be still pushing me, scaring me. Did you trick me? That's what you did? You you trick me? Where are you? Shadow? Shadow? Come here, Shadow, nice Shadow, Nice Shadow. I'm here, hand tons feedback. Yes, yes, I hear you. Not nice Shadow. Come come close to me. Put down that dynamite. Hand to on. No, no, Shadow, I am on the match. You touch that match to the fuse, you'll die too. But I'll kill you. And I don't care. You wouldn't let me kill people, and I don't want to live. I want to die. I want you to die too. Shadow. Wait, you blow up. Yes, I have a plan. Those thousands of people waiting up the street. Yes, you can kill all those people. Wouldn't that be better than just killing the two of us. Think your dynamite and come with me up the steps, up the street. Oh no, no, no, no, no no. The policeman there. I saw them. But they won't see you anymore than you can see me. No, no, no, no, no, they will see me. Hypnotize them, hypnotize them. Look straight at them, stare at them, and then they won't be able to see you. Think of all those people waiting to be killed. Come just a few more steps. I am with you. You'll be see. I'll try, I'll try. All those people waiting to be killed. I'll try, but don't you leave me shadow. I like the few I'm here, anton, speedback. Look, there are the two policemen. Just stare at them hard as you pass, and they won't see you. All right, I'll try, I'll try. Well, let's past seven tonners. Looks like a palsel on this time. Hey, wait a minute, is that night watchman? What's the matter with him? What's the staring us? Look? Look what he's carrying. You can't see me, You can't see me. No, no, no, take it away from me, and they go, holy noise. No, no, he lied, she fooled me. He said you couldn't see me. Give me my dynamite. I want to kill all those people. Hold of Bill, he's commisional whist we got him? Oh no, no, he s tricked me. He said you couldn't see me. Where do you come from? I got a subway excavation commissioner. He's a night watchman. No, no, he tricked me. Is this shadow tricks? It was the shadow, yes, Commissioner Weston, the shadow. I found the killer. But the glory he's all yours. Before we tell you all the shadows. Next exciting adventure. Here's John Barclay, Blue Call's famous heating expert, with that important message I promised you ladies and gentlemen, mister Barclay. Friends, there are just two more days left in November. That means at home on have only two more days in which to phone their blue Coal dealers and get the full details on how they may have a blue cold heat regulator installed in their homes for a free trial. Period of two weeks. To me, this is the most unusual offer ever made, the free use of a blue coal heat regulator for two whole weeks without any obligation on your part to buy. Believe me, friends, until you've used one of these marvelous thermostats. You don't know what real comfort is. Imagine having your home warm and cozy from morning till night without once having to make a trip down. To the furnace. And that's not all. You'll find You burn far less coal with this regulator too. But don't take my word for it. See for yourself. Phone your blue coal dealer tomorrow. I thank you friends, for your own sake. Jeors, mister Barclay suggests phone your blue coal dealer tomorrow and get full details at this amazing free trial offer. Prove to yourself. With thousands of satisfied owners already know that with a blue coal heat regulator you get more you no form heat, more economical heat than the most expensive oil burner can give you. But don't wait, phone your Blue coll dealer tomorrow. The story you have just heard is copyrighted by The Shadow Magazine. The characters in this story are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to person's living or dead is purely coincidental. The weed of crime, there's bitters. Crime does not pay the Shadow nose. Hear all about it next week. Tape Time Tape Station, The Shadow's latest secaure he