"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 160 - Vanished Treasure" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

VANISHED TREASURE
by Maxwell Grant

As originally published in "The Shadow Magazine," October 15, 1938.

Ghostly footfalls trod the old Beld mansion, and bloodshed and murder
followed in their wake! But only The Shadow knew the secret of the buried,
bloody treasure!


CHAPTER I

MIDNIGHT VISITORS

THE taxicab did not stop directly in front of the Germaine Apartments,
and
Marcus Beld knew why. This was not the first time that he had come here at
night. Cab drivers, as a clan, seemed to know that there could be danger where
"Itch" Fendel lived.
When the wrong guys went to see Itch, they sometimes ran into bullets at
the doorstep. The dim-lighted lobby of the Germaine made an excellent
background for machine-gun practice from across the street. That was why
hackies preferred to pull by, and let their passengers venture the remaining
distance on foot.
There had been two killings on the threshold of the Germaine Apartments;
but Itch Fendel had not been blamed for them. He had testified that the
murdered men were his friends, and had backed the assertions with proof. The
law, therefore, had accepted the murders as the work of Itch's enemies.
The odd thing was that Itch Fendel, king of gamblers, had no visible
enemies. That made it an even-money bet that Itch, himself, had registered
those rub-outs at the entrance of the old apartment-hotel that he owned. But
the wise gentry who held that opinion were also too canny to voice it.
Marcus Beld showed no hesitation when he walked into the lobby of the
apartment house. There was nervousness, though, upon his sallow, long-nosed
face. His eyes were fishlike, as they stared straight ahead, and his mouth had
an expression that also suited a finny creature.
When he reached the elevator, Beld tried to show unconcern by adjusting
the black tie that adorned his tuxedo collar; but the result was an awkward
gulp from overpressure on his Adam's apple.
Marcus didn't like the looks of the clerk and two loungers in the lobby.
They made him jittery about the future.
For Marcus Beld was entering into the good graces of Itch Fendel, but he
wasn't sure that he would have the same status when he left. Tonight, perhaps,
there would be murder on the way out. It all depended on how Itch took the
news
that Marcus would be forced to give him.
The elevator was in a deep corner of the lobby; Marcus felt relieved when
its door opened. Once aboard, his nervousness returned when he glanced at the
operator and realized that this fellow might also be a vassal of Itch Fendel.
Marcus couldn't see the man's face, for the operator was busy managing