"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 042 - Mox" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

station.

One man alighted from the train. He was carrying two suitcases and a roll of long cardboard underneath
his arm. He looked upward at the station sign, barely visible from the lights of car windows. He saw the
name "Darport."

The train puffed from the station. As its rear lights glided past, a heavy-set man stepped into the feeble
glow and accosted the arrival who was on the platform.

"Mr. Greerson?"
"Yes."

"I have come to take you to Mox. The car is waiting."

Taking the bags, the heavy man led Greerson to a parked automobile. The inventor entered the rear of
the car; the heavy man took the wheel. The car swung away from the darkened platform.

The town of Darport, as Peter Greerson viewed it from the window of the sedan, was a fair-sized
community. The station was away from the center of the town. The course which the driver was taking
did not pass through the business district. It was close enough, however, for Greerson to observe the
lights, which were still shining as the midnight hour approached.

The car took a broad, tree-lined avenue. It turned into a side street. It swung up a driveway. Peering
from the window, Greerson saw that they were in the shelter of a huge, ramshackle house. The driver
alighted and opened the door. Greerson stepped forth. The driver led him to the house, where a side
door opened and Greerson was greeted by a tall, bulky servant.

The inventor felt a slight shudder as the door closed behind him. There was something about the servant's
mannerтАФcoupled with the man's ugly faceтАФ that made Greerson sense a danger. His fears ended as the
servant spoke.

"You have your note?"

Greerson drew a folded slip of paper from his pocket. The servant read it. He uttered a hoarse call;
another servant appeared, as ungainly a fellow as the first. He received the paper, and stalked away
along a gloomy corridor. Greerson could hear his footsteps ascending a stairway.

Long minutes passed as the inventor waited with the first servant. Then came the trudge of footsteps. The
messenger had returned. In solemn tones, he announced:

"Mox will see you."

THE man picked up Greerson's bags. The inventor carried the cardboard roll. With the servant leading,
the two started through the hallway and up a pair of creaky stairs that made a long, winding course.

They passed through a corridor on the second floor. It terminated in a comfortable sitting room, where a
fire was burning in the hearth. Greerson removed his hat and coat. He looked about the room, and
observed a dog that was resting in the corner.

Greerson recognized the animal as a Dalmatian, the species used as a carriage dog. Of medium size, its