"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 123 - Washington Crime" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

WASHINGTON CRIME
by Maxwell Grant

As originally published in "The Shadow Magazine," April 1, 1937.

Like a vigilant eagle soaring in the sun, The Shadow casts his pall of
darkness over the nation's capital - to swoop down on birds of prey and with
talonlike hands snatch from them the papers of state they so eagerly seek!


CHAPTER I

THE COURT-MARTIAL

A SOLEMN group of army officers sat at a long table in a somber-walled
room. Beyond them, broad windows showed the dome of the Washington capitol
against a dull gray sky. Dusk was approaching; with it, proceedings were
drawing to a close. These officers were engaged in the most serious of all
military matters, a court-martial.
The Judge Advocate, a portly man of captain's rank, arose to summarize
the
case. He paused; looked toward the door, where a uniformed soldier was
standing
at attention, armed with a rifle. That door was opening.
Catching the Judge Advocate's gesture, the soldier swung about, bringing
his rifle to port arms. With crosswise gun, he stopped the entry of a tall
personage from the hallway.
The arrival spoke a password. The soldier about-faced; brought his rifle
to order arms. Facing the officers at the table, he used his left hand to give
the rifle salute. The Judge Advocate advanced to meet the tall arrival, who
handed him a folded message. The officer opened it.
The note was from the White House. It ordered that the bearer, Mr. Lamont
Cranston, be admitted to the court-martial proceedings. The order bore the
signature of the President of the United States.
The Judge Advocate bowed the visitor to a chair; tendered him a copy of
the early court proceedings. Others observed Cranston and studied the face of
this mysterious stranger who had come direct from the White House. They saw an
impassive, masklike countenance, its expression strangely hawkish. The
features
of Lamont Cranston impressed them. All present knew that Lamont Cranston must
be
some one of importance. None, however, guessed his actual identity.
This stranger was The Shadow. Master investigator who could solve the
greatest riddles of crime, he had been summoned to Washington to aid the
government with the most vital problem that had ever concerned the defense of
the nation. The whole case hinged on the proceedings of this court-martial,
hence The Shadow had chosen to be present.
The Judge Advocate began a terse summary. Calm-faced in his guise of
Cranston, The Shadow listened to the basic facts.