"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 095 - Death Rides the Skyway" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

The retired financier was close to affairs in San Francisco. It was quite probable he had learned of a deal
that concerned the K and R Railroad.

CAREFULLY, The Shadow spread the curtains. Beyond them, he encountered a metal barrier; the
berths of these streamlined trains were equipped with such doors for passengers who chose to use them.
The Shadow slid one hand along the barrier. He found a slight space. The door was not fastened from
the inside.

Smoothly, noiselessly, The Shadow slid the steel sheet open. His hand moved through the darkness; it
found a switch beside the window. Covering the little bulb of the berth lamp, The Shadow pressed the
switch. His palm covered the glow; carefully, he moved his hand sidewise, to let light trickle into the
berth.

Keen eyes were staring toward the man whom they saw lying in the berth. The glow increased as The
Shadow continued the motion of his hand. Then, with suddenness, The Shadow removed his hand
entirely.

The man in the berth was dead. The burning lamp revealed that fact in all its horror. Lying face upward,
his body half out from the blankets, the victim was staring toward the bottom of the berth above. The
dead man's eyes were bulging sightless; his lips were twisted in an expression of agony.

The Shadow had seen such death before. He knew what had caused it. The victim had been poisoned;
the killer had taken no chances in making sure of certain death. The man had died amid fierce pangs that
had prevented him from making an outcry.

However the killer might have administered the dose, it was evident that he had made no visit here to
view his handiwork. That would have meant too great a risk; furthermore, two articles of clothing
indicated that no intruder had been here. These were coat and overcoat, both neatly hung on hangers,
carefully buttoned from top to bottom as the dead man had arranged them.

CALMLY, The Shadow searched the pockets of both coats; he found only a handkerchief, a pack of
cigarettes and a pair of gloves. Through the cloth of the dead man's suit he could feel the slight bulge of a
wallet. The Shadow unbuttoned the coat and removed the object; then unfolded it in the light that filled
the berth.

Through the celluloid front of a pocket in the wallet, The Shadow viewed a photograph that matched the
dead man's face. An oldish countenance, wrinkled with lines, blunt-nosed and thin-haired. On the same
card was a typewritten name; beneath it an identifying signature.

The Shadow's search had ended with a thwarted mission. Death had gained its way before The Shadow.
The man who lay lifeless in Lower 8 was Seton Hylap!

CHAPTER IV. THE SHADOW SUBSTITUTES
THE SHADOW had completed a brief examination of Seton Hylap's wallet. He then replaced the wallet
and its contents in the inside pocket of the hanging coat.

Immediately after that action, The Shadow swung about to face the aisle. His action was timely; the
porter had appeared at the end of the car and was coming along the aisle. The Shadow's hand found the
sliding door of the berth and drew it shut. Then, as the limited lurched on a curve, he swung about to face
the closed berth. The porter, arriving, saw stooped head and shoulders as The Shadow closed the