"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 064 - The Death Sleep" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

equal.

In this assumption, he was wrong. Within a dozen feet of the commissioner, another listener was
stationed, silent and unseen. The Shadow, cloaked in darkness, was ready to catch statements that
would pass unnoticed by Wainwright Barth.

For the police commissioner, despite his egotism, was a poor hand at solving crime. There were many in
New York who could have beaten him at that game. But none could have equaled the master of
deduction who lurked outside that open window.

The Shadow, himself a living enigma, was one to whom all mysteries - no matter how baffling - would be
revealed once he had learned the details that accompanied them.

CHAPTER III. THE SHADOW DEDUCTS
CLARK DORING and his wife proved to be an excellent pair of witnesses. Despite the fact that they
had been beyond a closed door, their description of events within this apartment was both graphic and
illuminating. It was Doring who told the story in accurate detail, while Mrs. Doring affirmed the truth of
her husband's statements.

"An odd fact about the commotion," remarked Doring, as he finished the preliminary details. "The noise
stopped after I had pounded rather heavily. It ended with uncanny suddenness."

"So you believe someone heard you?" questioned Barth.

"That is what I thought at the time," replied Doring. "But afterward, I changed my opinion. The noise did
not stop while I was hammering at the door. It finished just as I was about to beat away again."

"Ah!" interjected Barth.

"From then on there was silence," resumed Doring. "I rapped after an interval of about one minute; then I
waited another minute and pounded. After another pause, I was about to knock again when the
telephone commenced to ring."

"Then you waited?"

"Yes. To see if someone answered. I thought for a moment that someone had done so. There was an
intermission in the ringing; but it resumed again."

"There's a point, commissioner," put in Cardona. "Someone could have answered that phone. Picked up
the receiver and let it down again."

"But I would have heard footsteps," insisted Doring.

"How do you know?" demanded Cardona, sharply.

"There is no rug in the entry," explained Doring. "I have visited here before; whenever Tanning has
answered the door, his approach has been quite audible. The telephone is almost at the door."

"Proceed," ordered Barth. "The pause in the ringing is not an important point, Cardona. It requires no
explanation. What happened next, Mr. Doring?"