"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 026 - Murder Trail" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

captain. I am ready. Let us go; it is unwise to remain in this cabin."

Von Werndorff sprang to his feet. He opened the door of the cabin, and beckoned to the visitor. Von
Tollsburg followed him along the corridor. On each side of the narrow passage were doorways, and
here, in the gloom of lights set far apart, the great gondola of the dirigible seemed as cavernous as the
interior of an ocean steamship.

With accommodations for more than one hundred persons, the Munchen was an air liner of mammoth
dimensions, and Von Tollsburg, here for the first time, appreciated its great size to the full.

Captain von Werndorff stopped as he neared the end of the corridor. He was at a space where two
doors on the left stood a full six feet apart. The same was true on the right. This section of the ship bore
the appearance of a strengthening bulkhead.

The visitor watched in admiration as Captain von Werndorff drew a picklike instrument and ran it down
the crevice at one side of the space between the doors. A muffled click occurred. The metal wall swung
outward. The captain stood back and motioned his visitor to enter.

Von Tollsburg walked into a pitch-black room. The commander followed him; a click came, and the two
were confined within the bulkhead.

Captain von Werndorff ran his hand along the wall, and a tiny light suddenly gleamed. It illuminated the
room in which the two were standing. A small, windowless chamber, this was a secret room aboard the
dirigibleтАФa spot that no one would possibly have suspected.

"THIS is the apartment, your excellency," said Von Werndorff, with a bow. "It is small; but I have spared
no pains to make it habitable."

He probed the farther wall with his pick. A small closet opened. Von Werndorff revealed shelves
stocked with canned goods.

"This serves two purposes," he explained. "It carries your supplies. It is also a ventilating shaft. Up
here"тАФhe pointed to an opening at the side of the closetтАФ"is communication with the berth in the wall.
Air is always there. Keep the closet door open during your waking hoursтАФwhen you sleep, there is no
need of worry."

Then, stepping back, Von Werndorff pointed to the wall, and marked a crevice with his fingers.

"Two catches hold the berth," he explained. "You will find no difficulty in operating it. I promised, your
excellency, that you would be comfortable aboard my ship."

"A stowaway de luxe;" responded Von Tollsburg, with a smile.

"Exactly," acknowledged the commander.

"And as for America?" the visitor questioned.

"Our destination is Chicago," declared Von Werndorff. "Weather conditions should be perfect. We shall
arrive on schedule. I shall insist upon a thorough inspection of the ship for my own protection. After that,
your departure will be easy. I shall arrange all."