"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 116 - Intimidation,Inc" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

Wrightley at the automobile window.
When he reached the corridor outside the courtroom, The Shadow
encountered
Hugh Bursard. The head of MXDO was smoking a cigar. He seemed pleased to see
Lamont Cranston. Bursard drew The Shadow to the side of the corridor.
"Newell Radbourne was here early," said Bursard in an undertone. "I saw
him alone in the courtroom. An attendant came and summoned him to the
telephone. I am sure he received a call from Mayor Wrightley."
"I saw the mayor outside," informed The Shadow, in the even voice of
Cranston. "He was talking to Elwood Clewiss. They came in the mayor's car."
"Good!" Bursard was pleased by the news. "Let's go into the courtroom."


THE courtroom was almost empty when they entered. Newell Radbourne was
seated within the railed enclosure. As The Shadow and Bursard took seats, a
door opened and Judge Noy arrived from his chambers. The gowned jurist was a
kindly faced old man, who looked the part of a fair-minded arbiter.
As the judge took his place at the bench, three lawyers appeared from
another doorway. They were corporation attorneys, representing Interstate
Textile. They gathered at the defense table. A few minutes later, Elwood
Clewiss appeared, accompanied by the plaintiff, Ray Kroot.
Clewiss took a table where a small pile of papers was already stacked. To
them, he added those that he had brought from the automobile. While Clewiss
was
busy, Kroot looked about the courtroom. The Shadow saw the inventor's face,
weary and haggard. He watched Kroot spy Newell Radbourne.
There was anger in Kroot's gaze, pitiful though it was. The Shadow saw
Radbourne meet the inventor's stare. Radbourne's response was not unfriendly.
His thin face showed a smile that carried no malice. For a moment, it seemed
to
impress Kroot; then the inventor turned and began to talk to Clewiss.
Judge Noy rapped for order. The lawyers began brief summaries of their
respective cases. One attorney for the Interstate Textile spoke blandly,
saying
that it was not the corporation's purpose to deprive an inventor of money that
he thought due him, but that corporations - like individuals - must protect
themselves against unfair demands. The speech was a weak one. Newell Radbourne
shook his head when the attorney sat down.
"That's the case all right," whispered Bursard, to The Shadow. "Radbourne
isn't stingy. He'd pay if he thought Kroot had a just claim. But that lawyer
gummed it badly. Clewiss will make that fellow look like two cents."
Bursard was simply voicing the thought that everyone else held. Watching
Clewiss, the spectators saw the future district attorney smile in confidence.
Judge Noy looked toward Clewiss, waiting for him to begin his plea. At that
moment, an attendant entered the courtroom and approached the bench. He handed
a folded paper to the judge.
The Shadow could catch the words that the attendant's lips phrased. He
was
telling the judge that he had received the letter from a messenger; that it
was