"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 017 - The Five Chameleons" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

Death!

The Shadow, tall and mysterious, garbed in black cloak and slouch hat, was a stern, inexorable figure.
His countenance was obscured by the upturned collar of his cloak and the tilting slope of his dark hat.

Hawk Forster, blinking nervously, could see only the glow of two penetrating eyes that shone from
unfathomable depths. Those eyes were the sign of doom!

A single arm extended from the folds of the black cloak. The gloved hand held an automatic. The muzzle
of the gun was trained upon the huddled gangster.

THE setting of this strange scene was the squalid room of an old hotel. An open bag upon the floor
showed that the gangster had been about to leave. A doorlike window, with the dim rail of a small
balcony beyond, showed the path by which The Shadow had entered to surprise the fleeing man.

"You fear death." The Shadow's voice was ironic. "You killed two men in cold blood, but you fear death,
yourself. So I shall let you live" - the sudden hope that came in Forster's eyes ended with the next words
- "for a little while!"

The crook chewed his puffy lips. His face had turned white. His eyes were pleading.

The Shadow laughed again - the same sardonic laugh that had announced his presence here.

"Murderer though you are," he declared, "you have a coward's heart. Three nights ago you killed two
men and fled. You were recognized. The police have been searching for you. They could not find you."

"But I, The Shadow, learned where you were hiding. Now, the police have learned of this place. They
are on their way here. Soon, they will arrive."

Hawk threw a frightened glance toward the heavy door. It was his only way of escape. Yet he dared not
move.

The Shadow laughed. The plight of this trapped killer pleased him.

"But unfortunately," resumed The Shadow, "the police do not move as swiftly as The Shadow. Knowing
that you might be planning an escape, I came here to hold you for them. Cowards such as you do not
belong to The Shadow. So you may live - with one goal: the electric chair at Sing Sing."

"No! No!" gasped Hawk. "No! Let me go! I'll -"

His words were interrupted by sounds from the hallway outside the room. A heavy fist pounded on the
strong door. Hawk Forster knelt in quaking silence.

"Open in the name of the law!" came through the door.

The muffled command went unheeded. Hawk Forster shuddered as he crouched against the wall, afraid
to move. The Shadow, silent as a statue, made no attempt to force him.

Sharp blows resounded. Hawk Forster turned his face toward the door. He could see the stout wood