"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 303 - The Curse of Thoth" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

deputed to interview him. For behind this business of reviving an old Egyptian secret for modern use, lay
influences sinister and baleful - should anyone admit their existence.

HURRY!

HURRY!!

HURRY!!!

The sign flashed its triple shout again, as Harry turned the corner, a reminder, even though a mere
coincidence, that weird influences from the Land of the Nile might still be at large, even in this mechanized
age. Hand in coat pocket, Harry fingered an envelope containing clippings that related to the subject and
despite himself, he began to wonder.

Harry was walking with long, rapid strides, a compromise between his brief jog, and a natural gait. Then,
almost at the door of the Alvara, a sudden thought struck him. If there was no need to hurry, this sort of
pace was foolish. Should haste be necessary, it would be equally unwise to give away the fact.

If danger lurked, it would be human; of that, Harry felt certain. So when he strolled nonchalantly into the
lobby of the Alvara Apartments, he took a satisfactory glance across the street. No furtive figures lurked
in the darkness there, so far as Harry could see; still, he wouldn't have sworn that there were none. It
was very dark across the street.

To get anywhere in the Alvara Apartments, it was necessary to stop at a combination office and
switchboard that was under the control of a dapper young man who at the moment was very busy
operating switchboard plugs beyond a window that bore the statement:

MAKE INQUIRIES HERE

This was emphasized by a blocky elevator man standing at the open door of his car. Harry's first steps
were toward the elevator and the operator responded by gesturing toward the office, with an upward
thumb motion that indicated the sign.

There was a girl already waiting at the office wicket. Her back was turned toward Harry and was mostly
fur, in the form of a mink coat. Apparently she was negotiating with the dapper chap behind the window,
so Harry took his turn in line with no show of impatience, knowing too well how such symptoms could
start an argument around New York and thus delay matters further.

They moved fast in Manhattan if you didn't block them; if you did, they'd take their own time and yours
with it.

The switchboard character manipulated a few plugs, tangled himself with some insulated wires, then
announced as though that settled it:

"Mr. Zerland isn't seeing anyone this evening."

It couldn't be meant for Harry, because he hadn't yet mentioned Zerland. So Harry took it that it was
meant for the girl. She pivoted away from the wicket on a pair of high heels, taking a turn in the opposite
direction so that Harry didn't see her face. All Harry did was crowd half through the wicket window and
put the confidential query: