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

he
found Bursard's bespectacled secretary. When The Shadow announced himself as
Mr.
Cranston, the secretary conducted him at once to Bursard's inner office.
In that paneled room, The Shadow found four men awaiting him. Hugh
Bursard
was behind the desk. Mayor Jonathan Wrightley was seated opposite him. Newell
Radbourne was in a chair by the paneled wall. Pacing near the doorway was
Elwood Clewiss.
It was Wrightley who greeted the visitor. Briefly, the pompous mayor
explained the reason for the committee meeting here.
"I informed the committee that you called me," stated the pompous mayor.
"We are all anxious to hear what you have to tell us, Mr. Cranston. I deemed
it
best, however, that we should meet somewhere other than at the city hall.
Everyone agreed with me, and Mr. Bursard consented to hold the conference
here.
That is why I sent you a message asking you to come to MXDO."
The Shadow nodded and sat down. Silence showed that all expected him to
speak. The Shadow began.
"You know why I left town yesterday," he told the group. "My life was
threatened in the letter that I received from Intimidation, Incorporated.
Therefore, I complied with his terms. That done, I felt that I could return in
safety."
Nods of agreement. No one present could find fault with the action.
Bursard spoke for the group when he expressed:
"Any one of us would have done as you did, Mr. Cranston. Our only hope,
though, is that you can furnish us with some new facts."
"Precisely," chimed in Mayor Wrightley. "We are determined to learn the
identity of this nefarious rogue who calls himself Intimidation,
Incorporated!"
Clewiss and Radbourne added similar statements. The Shadow's lips
repressed a smile. He knew that all four meant what they said, but one man had
a different design than the others.
Three wanted information for their own protection. They believed that The
Shadow - as Cranston - had been plucked by Intimidation, Incorporated. The
fourth man knew otherwise, for he, himself, was the supercrook. What that
fourth man wanted was information that would lead him to another crook who had
muscled in on the racket. It was plain that he did not suspect Lamont Cranston
as the message faker.


"WHEN I received the two hundred thousand dollars from Radbourne,"
bluffed
The Shadow, calmly, "I went back to my hotel room. There, I found the note
from
Intimidation, Incorporated, beneath the door. I decided to obey its
instructions. However, I used judgment. In my luggage, I had a small alligator
bag, conspicuous because it bore the initials 'L. C.'; also because one of its
brass corners was bent. I packed the money in that bag; then scratched out the