"Robert A. Heinlein - Magic, Inc" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

Dr Fortescue Biddle. He's just down the street - the Railway Exchange
Building. Come on, we'll walk it.'
I gulped down the rest of my beer and followed him.

Dr Biddle's place was impressive. He had a corner suite on the fourteenth
floor, and he had not spared expense in furnishing and decorating it. The
style was modern; it had the austere elegance of a society physician's
layout. There was a frieze around the wall of the signs of the zodiac done
in intaglio glass, backed up by aluminium. That was the only decoration of
any sort, the rest of the furnishing being very plain, but rich, with lots
of plate glass and chromium.

We had to wait about thirty minutes in the outer office; I spent the time
trying to estimate what I could have done the suite for, subletting what I
had to and allowing ten per cent. Then a really beautiful girl with a hushed
voice ushered us in. We found ourselves in another smaller room, alone, and
had to wait about ten minutes more. It was much like the waiting room, but
had some glass bookcases and an old print of Aristotle. I looked at the
bookcases with Jedson to kill time. They were filled with a lot of rare old
classics on magic. Jedson had just pointed out the Red Grimoire when we
heard a voice behind us.

Amusing, aren't they? The ancients knew a surprising amount. Not scientific,
of course, but remarkably clever-' The voice trailed off. We turned around;
he introduced him- sell as Dr Biddle.

He was a nice enough looking chap, really handsome in a spare, dignified
fashion. He was about ten years older than I am - fortyish, maybe - with
iron-grey hair at the temples and a small, stiff, British major's moustache.
His clothes could have been out of the style pages of Esquire. There was no
reason for me not to like him; his manners were pleasant enough. Maybe it
was the supercilious twist of his expression.

He led us into his private office, sat us down, and offered us cigarettes
before business was mentioned. He opened up with, You're Jedson, of course.
I suppose Mr Ditworth sent you?'

I cocked an ear at him; the name was familiar. But Jedson simply answered,
Why, no. Why would you think that he had?'

Biddle hesitated for a moment, then said, half to himself, That's strange. I
was certain that I had heard him mention your name. Do either one of you,'
he added, know Mr Ditworth?'

We both nodded at once and surprised each other, Biddle seemed relieved and
said, No doubt that accounts for it. Still - I need some more information.
Will you gentlemen excuse me while I call him?'
With that he vanished. I had never seen it done before. Jedson says there
are two ways to do it, one is hallucination, the other is an actual exit
through the Half World. Whichever way it's done, I think it's bad manners.