"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 161 - The Voice" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

Allied Airways.
Angrily, the doorman strode out to shake his fist at the interlopers.
Raucous jeers answered him. This guy in fancy uniform wasn't going to stop
these fellows from parking where they wanted! But when the doorman waved his
arm toward a cop on the next corner, the crew of the touring car changed their
minds.
They were quite close to a fire-plug; near enough for a cop to support
the
doorman's argument. It was apparent, too, that these rowdies didn't want to
talk
to a policeman.
The touring car jolted backward, whammed the front bumper of a big sedan.
It yanked from the space beside the curb, hooking the rear fender of a car
ahead. Chauffeurs sprang to the sidewalk to shout angrily at the doorman. The
corner cop arrived to investigate the trouble.
By that time, the tail-lights of the touring car were twinkling in the
distance. The parked cars were not badly damaged. The whole affair was
regarded
as a mere incident. Later, it was to loom as an important episode.


THE directors of Allied Airways were seated in a long, old-fashioned room
at the rear of the third floor. There were two doors to that room; one at the
front, the other, blocked by a hat rack, at the rear corner of the room, on
the
left.
Facing the front door was Daniel Clume, president of Allied Airways. He
was seated at the head of a long table; his squarish bulldog face and grizzled
hair gave him the appearance of a dominating power at this meeting.
That wasn't the exact case. The surrounding directors controlled the
affairs of Allied Airways. Some were elderly, dryish-faced and wizened.
Others,
younger, were obviously men whose wealth had been handed down to them. It was
plain, however, that they valued Clume as a man whose economy in business
management was bringing steady dividends to stockholders.
"The vote is unanimous!" announced Clume, in forceful basso tone. "We
hold
an option on Green Star Lines. With its important mail contracts, Green Star
is
a bargain at five million dollars. It is agreed that I make the purchase,
within the four days that remain."
There were nods of agreement. Clume circled his heavy-jawed face about
the
group, as if expecting questions. One came.
"Regarding Green Star," asked a director. "Is the company solvent?"
Clume expanded in an indulgent smile. "Our five million," he stated,
"will
be divided among the creditors of Green Star. They will be glad to receive
that
money. Whether or not it will pay one hundred cents on the dollar, is not our