"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 101 - The Gray Ghost" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

The gun was covering the door at which Debrossler stood. The other hand was clutching a thick batch of
crisp green currency. The intruder had found the money that Debrossler had brought home from the
bank.

One hundred bills, each of thousand dollar denomination; money intended for payment to a visitor named
Hiram Windler—such was the swag that the gray-garbed thief had gained. Martin Debrossler, horrified,
was watching his own wealth as it was plucked from before his very eyes.
But it was not the vicious daring of the theft that riveted the banker; nor was it the menace of the pointed
revolver. Stark fear, the facing of the incredible, was the emotion that made Debrossler incapable of
action. Debrossler had rejected the impossible; yet it stood before him. He knew the identity of the man
whom he saw.

The intruder answered vague descriptions that Debrossler had heard. He tallied with the mental pictures
that the banker had formed of a person whose existence he had ridiculed.

The hooded, jersey-clad robber was the Gray Ghost!

CHAPTER II. CRIME COMPLETE
A SNARL came from the covered lips of the Gray Ghost. The utterance proved a fact that Debrossler
had recognized; that the intruder was a human being, not a wraith.

The lighted study showed the jerseyed form too well to make it appear deceptive. Yet Debrossler was
gripped by the thought that this prowler, seen in duller illumination, could easily be accepted as a ghost, if
viewed by superstitious persons.

The rumors voiced by servants were thus established. That knowledge, however, did not bring comfort
to Debrossler. The banker would have preferred to face a specter, rather than this human vandal who
had come to pilfer cash. The revolver, clutched by a human hand, was a physical menace that made
Debrossler quail.

Satisfied that his victim would make no move, the Gray Ghost bounded from behind the desk. Thrusting
the sheaves of currency beneath a broad fold of his jersey, the thief sidled toward the window, all the
while holding Debrossler motionless with the gun.

The window was open; that proved how the crook had entered, for Debrossler kept the window locked.
Quick work with the jimmy was evidently one of the Gray Ghost's specialties.

To reach the window, the Gray Ghost was forced to pass close to Debrossler. With another snarl, the
robber warned the banker to stand his ground. Debrossler would have done so, but for an interruption
that both he and the Gray Ghost heard.

Footsteps from the stairway.

Debrossler took the sounds as an indication of Pennybrook's approach. He saw the Gray Ghost hesitate
and glance toward the door. For a moment, the revolver no longer covered the banker. Debrossler
gained sudden alarm; he foresaw death for Pennybrook should the lawyer make too rapid an entry. With
that dread for another man, Debrossler spied opportunity for himself.

With a sharp cry, the banker hurled himself upon the Gray Ghost. He grabbed for the crook's gun arm.