"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 301 - The Mother Goose Murders" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

MOTHER GOOSE MURDERS
by Maxwell Grant

As originally published in "The Shadow Magazine," March 1946.

In a series of startling robberies, murderous men hold a beautiful
hostage, and a clever code of nursery rhymes spells gun play instead of
child's
play! Can The Shadow smash the intricate web and bring a halt to terror?


I

EVERYBODY on the crowded subway train seemed to be reading newspapers:
their own or other people's. That was what bothered Diane Marlow, the fact
that
somebody was looking over her shoulder, scanning the very headlines that held
her own eyes.
The headlines read:

POLICE LINK BOND AND JEWEL ROBBERIES
Promise Immediate Arrest
GIRL AIDED GEM GRAB

The first two headlines didn't worry Diane; it was the third that
bothered
her, because she happened to be the girl it meant. That in turn cast doubt
upon
the second headline, which didn't specify who was to be arrested, the robber
or
his feminine accomplice.
Silly, this whole thing, but frightening. Diane's gloved hand clutched
tighter on the subway strap and she found herself gripping the newspaper so
hard that it crumpled in her other hand. Hastily relaxing, she opened the
paper
and lifted it to hide her face.
Fortunately, this attracted no attention because of the lurch of the
train. They were coming to a station and Diane decided she could hang on for
one stop more - her stop. She was feeling faint, but that didn't matter. You
just couldn't collapse in a subway car jammed as this one.
Besides, Diane was realizing that she had more to learn and no time to
waste in doing so. She needed to know what details the newspaper contained,
whether they were facts or not, so she steeled herself to the effort during
the
hop to the next station.
Maybe the facts were right about the robber, but they didn't apply to the
girl, as Diane could vouch if anyone would believe her.
According to the newspaper, the police defined the robber as the same
masked man who had entered a brokerage office two days ago and forced the
owner