"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 117 - Vengeance Is Mine" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

the lining, he saw the interior of the humidor. It contained two boxes of
cigars. The Shadow removed them and examined the remaining sections of the
copper lining.
He noted sharp scratches on the inside copper of the door; the screw that
held the catch was projecting slightly inward, and hooked about it was a tight
bit of wire that had been broken away.


THE humidor had been fixed as a death trap. Someone had entered the
apartment, opened the humidor and removed the cigar boxes to insert a bomb
instead. The knob had been fixed, with an inside wire connection, so that a
simple turn would snap the detonator of the bomb. Had Zanwood come to his
apartment and opened the humidor, he would have been blasted to nothingness
here, instead of at the Cobalt Club.
Two killers had teamed to get Zanwood. Tools of a supercrook who wanted
Zanwood's death, each of those workers had undertaken a different course to
make sure of the victim's doom. One had fixed a bomb in the humidor, while the
other had carried a bag to the Cobalt Club.
Without question, the man who had succeeded at the Cobalt Club had
promptly contacted his fellow worker in crime. The second man had decided to
remove the bomb that he had placed in the humidor, as it was no longer needed,
and replace the cigars. His task was no easy one, since the thing had been set
to blow the moment that the knob was turned.
The Shadow could picture two active workers. One - a man with iron nerve
-
who had handed Zanwood the bag, made strides for safety, called his pal by
telephone and arranged to cover the apartment afterward. The other - an expert
who could handle explosives; who did not fear to plant bombs and remove them.
The Shadow had taken no chances with the humidor; he had known that the
bomb might still be inside it. Finding the bomb gone, The Shadow simply closed
the door of the humidor; then put the cigar boxes in at the top. He replaced
the copper lining, wedged it in place and added the wooden top of the cabinet.
With one hand resting on the stout humidor, The Shadow started to reach
for the telephone. He made the move mechanically, for his thought were
concerned with his surroundings. The Shadow was planning his next move. His
eyes were fixed on a wall mirror that hung just above the humidor. From the
mirror, The Shadow could see the major portion of the living room.
He saw the door of the fire exit. A movement of that barrier made him
pause. The door was edging inward. Someone had unlocked it from the other side
and was peering through the darkened crack. As token of an immediate menace,
The Shadow saw a metal barrel slide noiselessly through the space at the edge
of the door.
Murderous men had not been far from Zanwood's apartment. They had seen
the
light come on there. One, at least, had returned by the fire tower, to which
the
pair must have gained access with a stolen key. A steady hand had opened that
door; the same firm fist was covering The Shadow with a gun muzzle.