"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 252 - Judge Lawless" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

among them Dave saw other titles, that dealt with varied phases of crime.
Between the book cases were pictures which dealt with many forms of
punishment, from ancient horrors through medieval modes of torture. From the
unpleasant things that were happening to the victims in those pictures, Dave
began to feel that Lawless had been most lenient when he decreed a simple
firing squad for the traitor, Fleech.
Emboldened by that thought, Dave Channey turned to face Judge Lawless.
In the light, the features of Dave Channey showed stolid, handsome in
their way, but definitely hard. Dave was maintaining that pose for specific
reasons.
First, he hadn't the slightest desire to look sleek, not after the
dealings he had held with a smooth-mannered rat named Delker. Moreover, he was
playing a tough part, that of a man who felt himself against the law because
he
believed that the law would soon be against him.
"You did well this evening, Channey," spoke Judge Lawless. His voice,
though sharp, was modulated to suit the confines of this smaller room and held
only an indication of its raspiness. "I liked the way you handled Fleech."
Dave immediately played a strong bluff.
"I liked your way of handling him too, Judge," spoke Dave, his own tone
matching the hardness of his gaze. "All rats squeal when they're trapped, and
that's all the more reason to get rid of them."
"The fault lay with the firing, squad. They should have settled Fleech
first."
"But they didn't, Judge, so I went after him. Too bad I didn't have a
gun.
I'd have saved you some later trouble."
Whether Judge Lawless knew that Fleech had originally charged toward The
Shadow, Dave wasn't sure. At any rate, it was logical that Dave should have
supposed the fellow to be after Lawless, so he intended to stick right to that
story.
Judge Lawless didn't question it, which pleased Dave thoroughly. So Dave
sat back with a confident air that seemed to announce that he regarded the
matter as settled.
Promptly, Judge Lawless dismissed the subject, whereupon a thought
flashed
home to Dave. He understood why The Shadow had done nothing to return his
favor.
In a way, The Shadow had returned the favor by ignoring it.
A keen customer, that fighter in black! He'd foreseen from his own
observation that Dave, his lone friend in court, would be able to alibi
himself
with Judge Lawless; hence, it was better that The Shadow should not have even
attempted a rescue of the man who had swung to his side.
From papers on his desk, Judge Lawless thumbed to the few he wanted.
After
glancing at them, he addressed Dave:
"I've studied your case, Channey. It involves a little matter of fifty
thousand dollars."
"Forty, to be exact, Judge," put in Dave. "You see, a fellow named Delker