"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 243 - Room of Doom" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

He hooked one with a flying mare and slapped him down in the driveway.
Rolling back to his shoulders, The Shadow met the other attacker with a pair
of
driving feet that tossed the flunky clear across to the lawn. Coming to hands
and knees, The Shadow made a racing start to the darkness at the side of the
house.
More cars were coming into the driveway - the ones that had pursued
Kelburn
earlier. Cardona was coming from the front door of the house, and he yelled
for
the cars to go after the same cab that they had chased before.
Since Cardona was arranging to overtake Nevlin, The Shadow went in
through
the side door to see what was happening inside the house.
Cardona had used sense in starting the servants after Nevlin; but others
weren't exhibiting the same judgment. Weston, accepting Nevlin's accusation of
Joan, had started upstairs to find the girl and both Dulther and Sigby were
following him.
They spotted her on the second floor, and Joan made a sudden dash for the
main stairway. Clattering down as fast as she could come, she stumbled as she
reached the reception hall, and The Shadow saw her revolver slide ahead of
her.
Then, frantically, Joan scooped up the weapon and tried to hide it, as she
looked for the best path toward further flight.
The men from the second floor were coming down. Weston was shouting for
Dulther and Sigby to look out, that the girl was dangerous and armed. Seeing
Cardona turn in from the front door, Joan took the only route left - past the
den and toward the darkened vestibule of the side door.
Huddled, Joan was clutching the revolver to her breast and hiding it with
her flapping sleeve, as she darted quick looks back at her pursuers. The pack
was close, and two things were inevitable. First, that Joan would stumble when
she reached the little steps she couldn't see; second, that she would be
overtaken and captured before she could regain her feet.
But Joan didn't stumble. Instead, solid blackness met her as she reached
the steps, took her in its folds and carried her downward. Joan heard a
whispered laugh close to her ear, and recognized it. The subdued tone seemed
to
tell her that all was well.
Indeed, suddenly sure that The Shadow was a friend, Joan expected him to
transport her somehow into the invisible realm which seemed his habitat. But
the
miracle didn't happen.
Whirled about, Joan felt herself sprawl down the steps, and gave a
frightened cry as she flung her hands to stop the fall. It stopped itself,
thanks to The Shadow. He caught the girl again, buffered her as she reached
the
wall, and left her sitting there very much surprised.
Joan was indignant, too, as she heard The Shadow's fleeting laugh whisper
back from the doorway. For, by then, her pursuers were almost upon her and she
had no chance to get up and run.