"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 288 - Merry Mrs.MacBeth" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

"You must have the wrong kind of friends," observed Thurland. "I thought The Shadow only dealt with
crooks."

Dundee started to say something; then thought better of it.

"Of course The Shadow may have his own definition of crime," continued Thurland, "but if so, it doesn't
agree with the law's. I always provided against meddlers who misinterpret legal matters."

Dundee nodded.

"I guess The Shadow would be too smart to put his neck out," he decided. "Funny for me to even think
about him. Guess it was what I heard them saying over at the Half Moon. If anything happened to
Harthorne, I might be able to guess who did it. That's sort of The Shadow's specialty too."

Thurland's eyes showed a glint that Dundee had rarely seen before. Terry had won his point; Thurland
would listen. Leaning forward on the big desk, Dundee stood wagging a finger like an attorney pleading
before a magistrate.

It was incongruous for a man whose ways were close to crime to sell an argument to a financial wizard
who was a master at the art of cover-up, with no compunctions in the process. But Meigs Thurland
wasn't to be the final judge in the cause that Terry Dundee broached.

Behind the maroon curtain stood a silent listener, that same elusive trailer who had dogged Dundee from
the neighborhood of the Half Moon Theatre.

He was a judge who could not only listen, but who was qualified to take a hand in whatever was to
come!

III.
THE pressure was off where Terry Dundee was concerned. For ten minutes straight he'd poured his
report on the Merry Mrs. show while Meigs Thurland, listening idly, kept gazing at an ornamental ship's
clock which stood on the desk, as though timing the length of Dundee's harangue.

It wasn't Thurland who interrupted; it was the clock. It gave six solemn dongs, which meant seven
o'clock, shipboard time. Dundee waited patiently until the strokes were completed; those bells always
called for silence, another of the peculiarities of an interview with Thurland.

Without waiting for the inquiring lift of Thurland's eyelids. Dundee summarized his findings.

"There's the nut-shell, Mr. Thurland," Terry declared. "Get Harthorne sore, have him junk the show, and
it's yours for cheap. If it's a flop, what can you lose? If it's a hit, you can pay Harthorne a percentage of
the net to pay off what little you do owe him."

Thurland gave Dundee a strangely cold stare, one that would have withered Terry if he hadn't known
what it really meant. The stare was part of Thurland's technique toward withering the wrong people when
they put forth such questionable propositions. It was a habit with Thurland to carry the ethical pretense to
the limit.

All the while though, Thurland was making notations in flourishing fashion on a sheet of paper. Finishing