"Ron Goulart - The Curse Of The Demon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Goulart Ron)

envelope. "There's a note from Cousin Elijah in here -- and a page torn out of a
very old book. It sort of explains the chest."

"And what exactly do you want me to do, Nancy?"

"All you really have to do, if you would, is keep the darn thing for me for a
while." She took two steps back. "But, listen, if you'd like to read over this
material and then take a crack at opening the chest --well, I'd really
appreciate that." She thrust the envelope at him.

Gingerly, he accepted it. "You're expecting me to be whapped by lightning."

"No, of course not. We've been close friends for over a year," she reminded. "I
wouldn't put you in jeopardy. No, what I thought was, since you're the only
brave and stalwart person I know at present -- Well, I hoped you could find out
if what the letter says is true. I'm sort of scared to try myself."

He fluttered the envelope. "What does the letter say?"

"That whoever uses what's inside the chest will find fame and fortune."

"That can't be what frightens you."

"No, it's the part where he warns about dire peril and the risk of eternal
damnation."

INDOOR LIGHTNING can be unnerving, especially when it comes in a variety of
colors. Dan discovered that fact about a half hour after Nancy had entrusted the
bronze chest to him.

Initially he had, handling it very cautiously, picked up the cloth shopping bag
by the handles and lugged it into his small disorderly living room. It made a
deep hollow thunk when he dropped it down near the door.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop suddenly, though that may have been
because the door had been standing open while Nancy worked at persuading him to
become the guardian of the possibly cursed object.

"Yeah, what did that expiring lawyer mean by 'the curse of the demon?'" he asked
himself as he perched on the edge of his worn sofa, several feet from the bag,
to watch it for a while. "I should've asked her. And also why all those other
heirs refused to touch her cousin's bequest with a barge pole."

Noticing the dirty envelope he was clutching -- the name of the law firm,
Tripple, DeHaven &, Worth, was printed in the left-hand corner Dan placed it on
his knee. After a moment, he opened it and fished out the two pieces of paper it
held.

The note from Elijah Higgardy was written in faded fountain pen ink on a sheet
of lined notebook paper. The book page was printed on heavy paper, much foxed