"Carey, M.V. - The Three Investigators 27 - The Mystery of the Magic Circle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Carey M.V)

"I guess he doesn't understand publishing contracts," said Beefy. "He missed the phrase about how the manuscript has to be acceptable."

Beefy went back into his office and Jupe returned to the mail room.

"Want to work overtime tonight?" Mr Grear said when Jupe came in. "The printer just sent over the brochures for the mailing on the songbird book. We can stuff the envelopes in a couple of hours, and I can take them to the post office first thing in the morning."

The boys were glad to put in the extra time, and they called their homes in Rocky Beach to report that they would be home late. They were busy folding circulars and putting them into envelopes when the rest of the staff left, singly and in groups. At a quarter to six, Mr Grear set out to take the last of the mail to the main post office. "On my way back I'll pick up some fried chicken at the shop down the street," he promised.

The boys toiled on after he left. A breeze came up and blew through the open window of the mail room. It caught the door and slammed it shut. The boys jumped at the sound, then resumed work.

It was six-fifteen when Bob stopped working and sniffed. "Do I smell smoke?" he said.

Pete looked around at the closed door. In the silence, the boys heard the hum of traffic on Pacifica Avenue. They heard another sound, too--a low, crackling roar that came to them muffled by the thick adobe walls.

Jupe frowned. He went to the door and put his hand against it. The wood felt warm. He put his hand on the knob, which felt even warmer, and very cautiously pulled the door open.

Instantly the roar became almost deafening. A great billow of smoke gushed into the room and overwhelmed the boys.

"Good grief!" shouted Pete.

Jupe threw his weight against the door and slammed it shut. He turned to face the others. "The hall!" he said. "There's fire all over the hall!"

The smoke was seeping in around the door now, thickening the air as it wafted towards the open window, which looked out on a narrow walkway between the adobe and the building next door. He leaned on the iron grille covering the window and pushed. "Help!" he shouted. "Help! Fire!"

No one answered and the bars didn't budge.

Bob snatched up a metal chair and shoved it through the bars. He and Pete tried to prise the metal grille away from the building. The chair only bent in their hands, and one leg snapped off.

"It's no use," called Jupe from Mr Grear's office. "The telephone is dead. And there's no one around to hear us yell."

He hurried back to the door that led to the hall. "We've got to get ourselves out, and this is the only way."

He went down on his knees, and again he edged the door open. Again the smoke gushed in through the opening. Bob coughed, and Pete's eyes began streaming. The two boys knelt behind Jupe and peered out into the hall. They saw smoke that looked almost solid. It seethed and glowed red with the light of flames that danced up the walls and licked away at the old staircase.

Jupe turned his face from the fire for an instant. He took a breath that was almost a sob. Then he started forward, holding his breath. But before he could get through the doorway, a gust of hot air pushed at him like a giant hand. He flinched, drew back, and slammed the door.

"We can't," he whispered. "Nobody can go through that fire! There's no way out! We're trapped!"





2

The Bleeding Man



FOR A MOMENT no one spoke. Then Pete made a choking sound. "Someone's got to see the smoke and call the fire department," he gasped. "Someone's just got to!"