"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 006 - The Death Tower" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

The man in the armchair gulped the contents of the glass. It was some potent liquor that was unfamiliar to
him. Doctor Palermo smiled as he witnessed its effect.

The drink was a bracer for Horace Chatham. It seemed to bring sudden light to the man's face. He
looked about him with a wan smile; then he laughed, forgetful of his nervousness.

For the first time, he became fully aware of his surroundings. He saw Doctor Palermo smiling back at
him, standing in the center of the small den, with its exquisite furnishings and paneled dark-oak walls.

"Have a cigar," said Palermo, in a smooth, suave voice.

He proffered a box of expensive perfectos. Chatham took one, and Palermo extended a lighted match.

The doctor also took a cigar, and drew up a chair to the center of the room. There he sat, watching
Chatham blow puffs of smoke.

He was a singular man, this Doctor Palermo. His name indicated Italian ancestry, but his nationality was
elusive. His words were perfect in enunciation as he spoke to Chatham.

"Worry has brought you here," he said. "Yet you fought against that worry until it becameтАФterror! I am
right?"

Chatham nodded.

"You had no worries the last time I saw you," remarked Palermo.

Horace Chatham hunched himself in the chair. He looked speculatively at Doctor Palermo.

The quiet demeanor of the tall physician called for confidences. Chatham shook off all hesitation.

"I have a lot of faith in you, doctor," he said. "Not only because of your skill and reputation, but because
of our friendship."

Doctor Palermo bowed and smiled.

"I couldn't trust any ordinary physician with this matter," continued Chatham. "I know what's the matter
with me. Partly imagination, and partly real danger.

"When it finally became too much for me, I had to come to you. Up hereтАФ away from every oneтАФwell,
it's the only place I can talk, and you're the only man to whom I can talk!"

DOCTOR PALERMO rested languidly in his chair. He made no effort to hurry Chatham in his
discourse. That fact seemed to encourage the visitor.

Well did he know Palermo's reputation. As an analyst of mental disorders, none could compare with this
remarkable physician. Doctor Palermo specialized in psychoanalysis alone.

All his time not devoted to consultations, he spent in his experimental laboratory, here on this fortieth
floor. Chatham knew of the laboratory; yet he had never entered it, nor had he ever known Doctor