"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 004 - The Red Menace" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

"The idea is preposterous. I can't give you an interview on that subject."

The reporter looked dismayed.

"It means a lot to me, sir," he said. "It's too late for me to see any one else. I have to get the interview,
Mr. Graham. I'll quote you accurately -"

A look of mild sympathy came over the millionaire's face as he saw the worried expression of the
reporter. He arose from his chair, placed his hands behind his back, and strolled to the large open
window. There he pressed one knee against the low sill, and looked out at the city.

Finally he turned and faced the reporter.

"I'll give you a short interview, my boy," he said, in a kindly tone. "I don't like the subject, and I would
ignore it under ordinary circumstances.

"But I'll help you out. I'll tell you just what I would do if I had one hour to live."

Instinctively, the reporter glanced at his watch and saw that it registered exactly four o'clock.

"At this particular moment," said Jonathan Graham, "I have several letters to dictate. It is the wind-up of a
day's routine. I shall be finished at exactly five o'clock. That's just about an hour from now, isn't it?"

The reporter nodded.

"Very well," continued the millionaire. "This coming hour is set and established in my mind. I expect to
carry it to its normal conclusion.
"It matters not to me whether I have one hour, or one hundred years, of life ahead of me. That hour will
be devoted to the work for which I have appointed it."

While Stevens jotted his notes, the millionaire walked a few steps; then turned and took his position
facing the window.

The reporter looked up and spoke.

"What else, sir?" he questioned.

"That is all," replied the millionaire, resting his knee against the window sill.

"Nothing else, sir?" asked Stevens.

The millionaire retained his pose, which seemed to be a favorite position.

"Nothing else," he said. "Your interview is over. That will have to satisfy you. I have work to do, and you
must go now."

SHORTLY before five o'clock, Stevens humbly submitted his story to the city editor. The result was a
storm of sarcastic disapproval.