"Doc Savage Adventure 1934-04 The Monsters" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doc Savage Collection)

No other sound came. The bedlam at the cabin had been so awesome that the night birds, animals, and insects had been frightened into complete silence.

MacBride now dug into the cabin wreckage. He found a gory wad of a thing. He had to examine it for some seconds before he would believe it was the earthly remains of Bruno Hen.

Bruno Hen had been crushed to death in ghastly fashion! Carl MacBride made a slow circle of the cabin and the vicinity, searching. Then he headed for his own cabin, running.

"This is a job for that Doc Savage!" he muttered,



Chapter 3

PLANE ACQUAINTANCE


MODERN PASSENGER planes are remarkably efficient creations. Not only are they capable of great speed, but the cabins are soundproofed until it is possible to conduct a conversation in ordinary tones. Pretty hostesses serve coffee and sandwiches.

Big Carl MacBride occupied a seat in one of these passenger ships, as it rushed toward New York. He tried to look nonchalant. He balanced a cup of coffee clumsily on one calloused palm and held a tiny sandwich between thumb and forefinger of his other hand. Between nibbles and sips, he eyed the surrounding clouds.

This was his first time in the air. From impressions gained in a life spent on the ground, he had supposed clouds were fairly solid things; but he was discovering they were really of a very wispy nature, with hardly more body than widely diffused cigarette smoke.

A fellow traveler interrupted the bulky woodsman's thoughts.

"I see you like to read back issues of magazines," the fellow remarked.

Cart MacBride turned his head. He saw a tall man with a freckled nose, reddish hair and a reddish mustache. The latter was an artistically waxed creation. The man was attired in a quiet business suit, and looked prosperous.

The fellow had been perusing a newspaper. This was folded carelessly, and an advertisement was uppermost. It was a strange sort of an ad. It consisted simply of large black type in the center of a white space:

BEWARE!
THE MONSTERS ARE COMING!

This somewhat unusual advertisement was not in line with Carl MacBride's gaze, however. He failed to see it.

The big woodsman had always associated freckles with friendly individuals. He smiled, and said: "Sure -- if the magazine ain't too old, I enjoy it just as much as a late one."

"I notice you were reading about Doc Savage," said the freckled man.

"Yep."

"My name is Caldwell," the fellow traveler introduced himself. "Quite an interesting chap, this Doc Savage."

"Do you know him?" Carl MacBride asked eagerly.

"Oh, no, although I'd rather like to. I've read of his accomplishments. I guess almost every one has heard of him."

"Yep. He's quite a detective, I reckon."

"Detective!" laughed Caldwell. "Doc Savage is not a detective."