"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 008 - The Black Master" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

"I am afraid to die!" he said, in a trembling voice. "I fear death!"

Raynor placed his hands upon the man's shoulders. Curbing his impatience, he spoke in his usual
reassuring tone.

"You are safe -" He pressed Vervick gently away from the desk toward the corner of the room, that he
might have a clear path to the door that opened in the reporters' room. "Do not worry. Nothing can harm
you here, because we -"

The sentence was never completed. As Vervick stepped back from the desk, the entire room rose and
spread in all directions.

The roar of a terrific explosion burst forth. The whole wall of the Classic building crumbled - the side of
the timeworn structure collapsed with a mighty crash.

The four men who stood in that doomed room were blown to atoms. The wreckage that remained
poured forth into the street amid a volume of thick smoke. The blast shook the entire building.

The name that Harlan Raynor had learned would never reach the public! Harlan Raynor was dead, with
his two star reporters; and with them perished Vervick, the man who feared death!

CHAPTER III. THE POLICE SEEK EVIDENCE
THREE men were seated in a luxurious apartment. They were engaged in earnest conversation. Each
was a man of imposing appearance. Their expressions were serious and their consultation bore signs of
vast importance.

A keen observer would have recognized two of the men as police officials. Their bearing indicated it,
even though they were garbed in civilian clothes.

One was Inspector James Burke; the other was Detective Joe Cardona. They were two of the keenest
men on the New York police force.

The third man in the group was evidently the owner of the apartment. He was tall and dignified,
white-haired and keen-eyed. His whole bearing was impressive, even to the military mustache that
formed a white line upon his upper lip.

He was a man of vast importance in New York, though unknown to most of the inhabitants of the city.
This was Doctor Heinrich Zerndorff, international criminologist.

This man was speaking, and his words carried a quiet conviction that had a marked effect upon the
listeners.

"We must not be impatient," he said. His voice had a slightly guttural accent. "We are confronted with a
great problem. I can see the light" - he tapped his forehead as he spoke - "and that is why I say not to be
impatient."

"You know best, professor," said Inspector Burke. "You're expecting the government men; you've talked
with them already, and this is their job as well as ours."

"But don't forget what we're up against. We have to police this city. Four explosions in one day is bad