"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 265 - The Black Dragon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

THE BLACK DRAGON
by Maxwell Grant

As originally published in "The Shadow Magazine," March 1, 1943.

The Shadow strikes back - at a devil god that symbolizes all the hate and
menace and trickery of the Japs!


CHAPTER I

BLACK MADNESS

STEVE TRASK stared at the carved dragon that squatted in the shop window.
It was a tiny object, not more than four inches high. Carved from solid jet,
the
dragon was a glossy black, save for two dots of jade that gave it the look of
a
green-eyed monster in miniature.
It might even be Miljohn's dragon!
Singular, how Steve had scoured Manhattan's Chinatown in vain, looking
for
just such a dragon, only to find one in the window of this obscure shop which
bore no name and looked as though it was no longer doing business!
As Steve stared, something more singular happened. A saffron hand came
through the curtain that backed the show window, gripped the jet dragon in its
fist and disappeared as rapidly as it had arrived.
Springing to the door of the shop, Steve pounded with one hand, while
using
the other to grip the stubby revolver that he carried in his pocket. Shuffly
footsteps answered from within; the door opened a crack and Steve received a
minute inspection from a slanted eye.
Then the door went wide and a yellow-faced man bowed Steve to a counter.
Seeing Steve's eye upon his fist, the man inquired:
"You wantee buy dragon?"
As Steve nodded, a telephone bell rang. The shopkeeper answered, all the
while keeping a wary eye upon the door. Across the wire, Steve heard a sharp
voice that inquired:
"You, Sujan?"
The shopkeeper muttered quick words that ended the call. Turning to
Steve,
he spread his hand twice to indicate the price of the dragon as ten dollars,
absurdly low for such a rare curio. With his free hand, Steve produced the
money
and pocketed the jet ornament, but he still gripped his gun as he stepped
outdoors.
That ten-dollar price was proof that something was wrong in this shop.
But
it simply clinched an impression that Steve had gained earlier. It wasn't
until