"Деннис Уитли. The Devil Rides Out (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

'What do you figure to do then?'
'Go in and see if Simon has returned.'
'I'm game, but the odds are pretty heavy.'
'If we're caught we must run for it.'
'O.K., but if we fail to make our get-away they'll call the
police and have us gaoled for housebreaking.'
'No-no,' De Richleau muttered. They won't want to draw the
attention of the police to then- activities, and the one thing that
matters is to get Simon out of here.'
'All right.' Rex placed his hands on his knees, and stooping his
great shoulders, leaned his head against the wall. 'Up you go.'
The Duke bent towards him. 'Listen!' he whispered. 'Once we're
inside we've got to stick together whatever happens. God knows what
they've used this house of Simon's for, but the whole place reeks of
evil.'
'Oh shucks!' Rex muttered contemptuously.
'I mean it,' De Richleau insisted. 'If you take that attitude I'd
rather go in alone. This is the most dangerous business I've ever
been up against, and if it wasn't for the thought of Simon nothing
on earth would tempt me to go over this wall in the middle of the
night.'
'Oh-all right. Have it your own way.'
'You'll obey me implicitly-every word I say?'
'Yes, don't fret yourself ...'
'Good, and remember you are to bolt for it the instant I give the
word, because the little knowledge that I possess may only protect
us for a very fleeting space of time.' The Duke clambered on to
Rex's shoulders and heaved himself up on to the coping. Rex stepped
back a few yards and took a flying leap; next second he had
scrambled up beside De Richleau. For a moment they both sat astride
the wall peering down into the shadows of the garden, then they
dropped silently into a flower-border on the other side.
'The first thing is to find a good line of retreat in case we
have to get out in a hurry,' breathed the Duke.
'What about this?' Rex whispered back, slapping the trunk of a
well-grown laburnum tree.
De Richleau nodded silently. One glance assured him that with the
aid of the lower branches two springs would bring them to the top of
the wall. Then he moved at a quick, stealthy run across a small open
space of lawn to the shelter of some bushes that ran round the side
of the house.
From their new cover Rex surveyed the side windows. No glimmer of
light broke the expanse of the rambling old mansion. As the Duke
moved on, he followed, until the bushes ended at the entrance of a
back yard, evidently giving on to the kitchen quarters.
'Have a care,' he whispered, jerking De Richleau's sleeve. 'They
may have a dog.'
'They couldn't,' replied the Duke positively. 'Dogs are simple,
friendly creatures but highly psychic. The vibrations in a place
where Black Magic was practised would cause any dog to bolt for a