Page:Weird Tales Volume 27 Issue 01 (1936-01).djvu/36
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Horror Insured
By PAUL ERNST
Another amazing story about the exploits of the sinister figure who calls himself
Doctor Satan, the world's weirdest criminal—a tale of breath-
taking incidents and eery power
1. In Satan's Crucible
IT WAS noon. The enormous National State Building hummed like a beehive with the activity of its tenants. Every office spewed forth men and women on their way to lunch. The express elevators dropped like plummets from the seventy-ninth floor, while the locals handled the crowds from the fortieth floor down.
At the top floor an express elevator tarried beyond its usual schedule. The operator paid no attention to the red flash from the starter downstairs signaling the Up cages to start down as soon as possible. He acted as though he was beyond schedules, as indeed he was.
This elevator, though hot entirely private, was at the disposal of Martial Varley, owner of the building, whose offices took up the top floor. Others could ride in it, but they did so with the understanding that at morning, noon and evening the elevator waited to carry Varley, whose appearances at his office occurred with time-clock regularity. Hence, if the cage waited inactively those in it knew why and did not exhibit signs of impatience.
There were half a dozen people in the elevator that paused for Varley to ride down. There was an elderly woman, Varley's office manager and two secretaries; and there were two big business