"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 010 - Hands in the Dark" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

impressive. It was only the memory of that conversation that reconciled her to the man who varied so
from her expectations.

Hodgson was back. The old man was keen, despite his poor vision. He sensed the melancholy that had
come over the girl.

"What's the matter, Miss Betty?" he asked.

"Nothing, Hodgson."

"Is it Mr. Bob?"

"Yes," admitted Betty. "He's different from the Bob Galvin that I expected. I can't explain it, Hodgson,
but -"

"You are right, Miss Betty," said the servant, in a low voice. "He is differentтАФdifferent since last night!"

"Since last night!"

"Yes, ma'am. He went out with Mr. Mallory. That was about midnight. He came back an hour later, and
I spoke to him when he came in. He didn't say anything. He just went up to his room.

"To-day, when he spoke to me, he seemed changed. There was a difference in his voice, Miss Betty."

The old servant's words were perplexing.

Why had Bob Galvin gone out lateтАФwith Mallory, of all persons? Perhaps Hodgson was mistaken about
Mallory. But he could not be mistaken about Bob.
Who was the visitor here to-night?

Betty wondered. She rose from the table and went out into the hall. There she encountered Bob Galvin
and another man coming from the study.

The visitor was not easily discerned in the gloom, but Betty noted that he wore a cap pulled down over
his eyes. There was a toughness about the man's face тАФall that Betty could see of it. Bob turned
suddenly.

"Hello, Betty," he said. "I'm going out for a while. I'll see you later."

He was wearing his coat and held his hat in his hand. He did not introduce the stranger. He and the other
man departed, leaving Betty astonished.

THE evening dragged slowly by. Betty read a book in the big library - a room as gloomy as the rest of
the house. Betty was used to this atmosphere, although at times it chilled her.

It was nearly midnight when Betty retired. Before she went to sleep, she heard the front door close
ponderously. The stairs creaked.

Bob Galvin had returned.