CHAPTER V. A STRANGE INTERVIEW
THE elevator reached the fortieth floor of the Marimba Apartments and Clyde Burke was left alone in the anteroom. He had already been announced. Now the newspaperman studied the door before him with observant eyes. He was impressed by the massiveness of its construction.
He rang the bell and waited. There was something uncanny in the way the door opened.
Entering, Burke felt a sinking feeling. The dimly-lighted hallway, with its huge bookcases, seemed like the entrance to a medieval castle.
As the newspaperman walked along the thickly carpeted passage, the door opened at the other end, and he beheld a robed figure standing there.
The form of the man seemed like some inquisitor, until Burke had approached more closely. Then he identified the man’s garment as a physician’s gown, but instead of being the usual white, the gown was a deep yellow.
“Mr. Burke?”
The question came in a modulated voice. As Burke acknowledged it, he realized that he was in the presence of a most unusual person, and surmised correctly that it was Doctor Palermo.
The physician ushered Burke into the paneled room, and invited him to take a chair. Burke accepted the cigar that was offered.
These ceremonies over, Doctor Palermo stood in the center of the room, his hands behind his back, and waited. There was nothing questioning in his attitude. He merely expected the visitor to state his business.