"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 001 - The Living Shadow" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

Perhaps I shall lose it, for I have lost lives, just as I have saved them. This is my promise: life, with
enjoyment, with danger, with excitement, and - with money. Life, above all, with honor. If I give it, I
demand obedience. Absolute obedience. You may accept my terms, or you may refuse. I shall wait for
you to choose."

The car rolled on comfortably through the side streets of upper New York. The motor seemed noiseless;
Harry Vincent began to understand how it had approached him unheard upon the bridge.

He was wondering about his strange companion; this being who had whirled him away from his fatal
plunge as though his hundred and seventy pounds had been nothing; this personage who could read his
thoughts and whose questions were commands.

Harry turned again toward the darkened corner, and hope returned to him. After all, he wanted life. He
had come to New York because he had desired to live and to succeed. This was his opportunity. He
pictured his lifeless body, beneath the bridge, and he realized that he could make but one choice.

"I accept," he said.

"Remember then, obedience," said the voice. "That must come always. I do not ask for cleverness, for
strength or skill, although I want them, and will expect them to the best of your ability."

There was a pause. The whispered voice seemed to echo in Vincent's ears. He realized that there was
neither approval nor surprise in the stranger's words. Simply calmness.

"You will be taken immediately to a hotel," resumed the voice. "You will find a room reserved in your
name. There will be money there. Your requirements will be filled. You will obtain everything you want.
Your bills will be paid."

The point of a cane swung from the rear seat and tapped twice against the windowpane behind the
chauffeur. It seemed to be a signal, for the speed of the car increased as it sharply swung a corner.

"But, remember, Harry Vincent," said the voice from the corner, "I must have your promise. Shut your
eyes for one full minute while you think on it. Then promise, if you wish. Promise your obedience."

Vincent closed his eyes and thought. His mind cleared and life seemed to brighten. There was but one
course; that was acceptance of the stranger's terms.

He opened his eyes and again gazed at that blackened corner.

"I promise," he said. "I promise full obedience."

"Very well," came the stranger's whisper. "Go to your hotel. To-morrow you will receive a message. It
will come from me; and my messages are meaningless to those who should not understand them. Listen
well when you receive it. Remember only the words which are emphasized in pronouncing like this."

There was a stressing of the last word. It seemed almost a sentence in itself and the hiss of the stranger's
whisper carried a weird, unearthly sound.

The car swerved suddenly and stopped with a jolt against the curb on the left. An open car had forced it
to the sidewalk; and the headlights of the other automobile were glaring through the window. A figure