"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 031 - The Red Blot" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

THE RED BLOT
Maxwell Grant
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http://www.blackmask.com

? CHAPTER I. THE SHADOW'S QUEST
? CHAPTER II. WITHIN THE SAFE
? CHAPTER III. THE SHADOW SPEAKS
? CHAPTER IV. THE LAW DECIDES
? CHAPTER V. PLOTTED CRIME
? CHAPTER VI. THE BANK ROBBERY
? CHAPTER VII. OVER THE WIRE
? CHAPTER VIII. ON THE SUBWAY
? CHAPTER IX. THE SHADOW'S CLEW
? CHAPTER X. THE CLUB JANEIRO
? CHAPTER XI. AGAIN THE BLOT
? CHAPTER XII. THE RED BLOT SPREADS
? CHAPTER XIII. THE ULTIMATUM
? CHAPTER XIV. THE CRIME UNSOLVED
? CHAPTER XV. IN THE LAIR
? CHAPTER XVI. THE SHADOW PREPARES
? CHAPTER XVII. THE PRELUDE
? CHAPTER XVIII. ANOTHER DISAPPEARANCE
? CHAPTER XIX. FIVE MILLION DOLLARS
? CHAPTER XX. FINAL PLANS
? CHAPTER XXI. THE RED BLOT STRIKES
? CHAPTER XXII. ZERO HOUR
? CHAPTER XXIII. THE END OF THE BLOT
? CHAPTER XXIV. THE COMMISSIONER EXPLAINS

CHAPTER I. THE SHADOW'S QUEST
A swift, repeated ticking was audible amid a total darkness. But for that sound, intense silence would
have pervaded the thickness of absolute gloom. It was not until a sharper noise occurred that any sign of
a human presence was revealed.

A click came from a spot above the ticking. A blue light suddenly cast an eerie glow downward upon the
surface of a polished table. There, beneath the rays of the strange, shaded lamp, appeared the ticking
object.

It was a clock of curious construction. Set at an angle upon the table top, this timepiece showed no
hands upon its large face. Instead, it had three circles, the innermost marked with twelve numbers; the
outer circles divided with sixty.

From grooves on the outer edge of each circle extended rings, so designed that they surrounded only one
number at a time. Just as the light came on, the rings of the outer circles moved. The extreme ring made
another jump a second later; but the intermediate one still remained constant, like the one in the center.

A clock that moved with intermittent precision, this odd dial was designed to mark the passing seconds
by its outer circle; the minutes by the second one; and the hours by the center circle. Although the