"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 250 - Death About Town" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

might bring bullets to both. A long risk, in a sense, for The Shadow was placing himself in Laverock's
power; but the cloaked fighter was playing a chance that in a game of wits he could outmatch his
opponent sufficiently to make up the lost margin, and more.

Indeed, giving Laverock the full advantage helped throw the fellow off his guard, as Laverock promptly
evidenced by a harsh chuckle.

"I THOUGHT as much," clucked Laverock. "Whoever murdered Orvill would have reason to come
here, too."

The Shadow responded with a whispered laugh.

"Your supposition supports the police theory," spoke The Shadow, in sibilant tone. "With this difference,
Laverock: They foresaw your return - not my visit."

"You accuse me of murder?" Laverock was drawing closer to the desk, thrusting the gun ahead of him,
so that the four muzzles nearly reached The Shadow. "On what grounds, may I ask?"

"On better grounds than could be applied to my own case," parried The Shadow. "I had no quarrel with
Orvill, as you did."

Laverock's hard smile showed that he was unimpressed.

"Let us assume that a murderer has returned," suggested Laverock. "I don't need to prove that I didn't kill
Orvill. I know I didn't. Eliminating myself, that leaves only you."

Squinting upward, Laverock was trying to probe the face beneath The Shadow's slouch hat, but the brim
cut off the light. All that Laverock observed was the burn of keen eyes, a glow that should have warned
him of The Shadow's mettle.
But Laverock was too anxious to identify the man that he accused of murder to be impressed by the
burning gaze. Nor did The Shadow's whispered words change Laverock's purpose.

"By the same logic," The Shadow began, "I could eliminate myself and declare you to be the killer -"

"You murdered Orvill!" accused Laverock harshly. "If you want to live, you will write a full confession!"
He waved his four-muzzled gun toward pen and paper that were lying on the desk. "Write - and sign!"

Briefly, The Shadow hesitated. Then, slowly, he reached for pen and paper. Under Laverock's close
scrutiny, The Shadow wrote, direct and to the point:

I, the undersigned, hereby admit my full guilt, in the murder of Dana Orvill -

Small wonder that Laverock's features were triumphant as The Shadow's pen moved onward. Often had
men of crime sought victory over The Shadow, but never on such a scale as this. Totally at bay, the
master of justice was confessing to a murder committed by another, under the inflexible insistence of the
very man upon whom the law blamed the crime in question!

CHAPTER IV. ACCEPTED TERMS
THE SHADOW'S hand paused wearily, as though the writing of a single, fateful paragraph had robbed
him of all strength. There, in glistening blue, lay words that could mean the death chair. All that the