"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 031 - The Red Blot" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

Some fifty feet from the corner stood a dilapidated brick building of three-story height. Beside it ran an
obscure alleyway. This structure, apparently an old residence that had seen better days, was actually a
most important adjunct to the decrepit neighborhood.

Three golden balls glimmered faintly above the dim front door. Blackened windows showed the outlines
of heavy bars. This building housed the pawnshop of Timothy Baruch, one of the oddest characters on
this section of the East Side.
Old Baruch's place was known throughout the underworld. The man had been a pawnbroker for many
years, and it was an adage among thieves and burglars that Baruch's bids on stolen goods could be
accepted as reliable.

Baruch was not the usual type of "fence," who disposed of stolen articles. His place was termed a "hock
shop," even by those who had dealt with him under cover.

For Timothy Baruch was a canny individual who had ways of assuring police and detectives that his
transactions were legitimate; and the great proportion of his business was in keeping with the policies of
better-class pawnshops.

The old pawnbroker was unpretentious. He made no great show of worldliness. Nevertheless, it had
been noised about that his safe contained pilfered jewels and other rarities of great value.

These rumors had never gotten back to Baruch's ears, hence the old man dwelt in security. He was sure
that his pretense of poverty would suffice to keep malefactors from his property. Moreover, he relied
upon his connection with the underworld and the security of his safe as positive protection.

Underworld connections might fade; but the fame of Baruch's safe would remain. The huge strong box
was the one thing in which Baruch had invested heavily.

Various gangsters had viewed it; and they held to the opinion that there were but two safe crackers
skilled enough to open it. One was "Tweezers" Darley, at present retired from active practice; the other
was "Moocher" Gleetz, no longer in Manhattan.

Perhaps Timothy Baruch knew of the inactivity of these two safe crackers; at any rate, his safe remained
inviolate, despite the fact that his barred doors and windows were not as formidable as they might have
been.

THE SHADOW now stood in front of Baruch's pawnshop. There, within the fringe of darkness cast by
the old building, his tall form was invisible. No motion, no sound, betrayed The Shadow's presence as he
glided into the entrance of the alleyway.

The invisible visitor did not continue to the rear of the building, the spot where access would have been
most likely. Instead, he stopped beside the wall and began a strange upward ascent in the midst of almost
total darkness.

A low, squidgy sound was the only token of The Shadow's progress. It continued until the unseen figure
reached the second floor.

Here, the windows were barred with gratings only. Working in the darkness, The Shadow easily
removed the barrier from one window. His lithe figure entered a room on the second floor.