"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 096 - North Woods Mystery" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

as he passed closed shops. There were darkened patches along these building walls. Some shops were
deserted; others had shut down for the night. Few eyes saw Doctor Tam as he stopped at stone steps
leading down into a basement store.

A sign bore the name Loon Kow, flanked by Chinese characters. The place was a small curio shop; from
its shaded windows filtered rays of greenish light. That was why Doctor Tam stood perplexed. He had
expected either to find Loon Kow in his doorway, or to see the shop entirely dark.

Tam threw a darted gaze across his shoulder. He noted no one near him on the street. Descending the
steps, he produced a key from his pocket. He unlocked the door of the curio shop. Entering, he softly
closed the door and locked it; then looked about.

The curio shop was deserted. Greenish lights revealed nothing but a display of Chinese merchandise.
Smiling Buddhas grinned from tables flanked by silken banners. Brass bowls caught the reflection of the
dull emerald light.

Where was Loon Kow?

Doctor Tam had received a message from the proprietor, only an hour before. It had been urgent. Loon
Kow had left word of danger. Tam, when he had heard of it, had been troubled. Crime was prevalent in
Chinatown. Hence Tam had come to see Loon Kow.

HEAVY curtains masked a door at the rear of the curio shop. There was no light beyond them. Tam
approached. He found a closed door. He unlocked it with the pass-key, a useful implement which Loon
Kow had given him for visits such as this. Tam stepped into an office that was lighted by a single desk
lamp. He locked the door behind him.

Again the question: where was Loon Kow?

This was the curio dealer's office. It had no door other than the one that Tam had entered. A bulky,
wide-topped desk occupied the center of the room. In the far corner was a three-fold screen that had a
filing cabinet behind it. Loon Kow certainly would not be hiding behind the screen. Tam's assumption
was that his friend had gone out.

Since Loon Kow seemed absent, Tam chose the big swivel-chair on the far side of the desk. He came
into the glare of the lamplight; then stopped short. A desk drawer was opened, beyond the chair. Within
the drawer, Tam saw the glitter of a revolver.

The weapon was tilted upward, as though some one yanked the drawer open; then made a grab for the
gun. Tam leaned forward. His eyes saw the floor beyond the desk. Staring straight upward was a face; a
yellowish visage with glassy, lifeless eyes.

Tam bounded over, shoving the chair aside. He dropped near the figure beside the desk. He studied a
face that he knew well. The dead man was Loon Kow.

The body was in shirt-sleeves. Blood stained the white front of Loon Kow's shirt. The Chinese
proprietor had been stabbed to the heart, struck down by an assassin before he could produce the
revolver from the desk drawer.
Sorrow showed upon Doctor Tam's square face. Tam's eyes were fixed. He could think of nothing but
Loon Kow. This was the danger that his friend had foretold. A threat of murder; one that had been