"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 167 - Realm Of Doom" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

REALM OF DOOM
by Maxwell Grant

As originally published in "The Shadow Magazine," February 1, 1939.

The last "finger" falls from The Hand, as The Shadow cleaves wide open
the
Realm of Doom.


CHAPTER I

CRIME'S APPOINTMENT

Two men were standing near the center of the hotel lobby, watching the
bellboy bring their suitcases from the elevator. To all appearances, they were
a pair of motorists ending their stay in Charleston, West Virginia.
The fact that they were checking out at six in the afternoon was not
unusual. Many persons preferred to drive at night, and six o'clock was the
time
when guests had to leave or pay for another night's lodging.
One man was tall, with light hair and eyes. His face was a friendly one,
except for a disdainful smile that occasionally flexed his lips. The other, of
average height, had dark hair and sallow complexion, plus an expression that
showed shrewdness, even when he glanced at a road map.
It was the taller man who spoke, before the bellboy arrived. His words
were undertoned.
"Have the bellhop stick the bags in the car," he told his companion.
"We'll have chow before we scram. I'll take care of the bill, Clip."
The man called Clip was turning away, when he remembered something. There
was still time to ask about it, for the bellboy was having trouble with the
bags.
"What about that phone call, Rigger?" whispered Clip. "You're taking care
of it, too?"
A nod from Rigger settled that question. Soon, Rigger was standing by the
cashier's window, while Clip was strolling out through the lobby, preceded by
the bag-burdened bellboy.
The bill came to eight dollars and sixty cents. With one of his curiously
curved smiles, Rigger brought a fat wallet from his pocket, peeled off a
twenty-dollar bank note and shoved it through the window. When he had received
his change, he glanced about the lobby, then moved toward a large rack that
held road maps and other circulars.
He had decided to stall around for a few minutes, before making the
telephone call that Clip had mentioned. Haste didn't go along with Rigger's
plan of action, when he was posing as a gentleman.
In that policy, Rigger evidently had the right idea; for the next man who
approached the cashier's window was definitely a gentleman, and he possessed a
most leisurely manner. He was attired in evening clothes that fitted him to
perfection, and his arrival at the window brought a respectful bow from the
cashier.