"Doc Savage Adventure 1938-12 The Devil Genghis" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doc Savage Collection)

Chapter II

A MYSTERY IN GOTHAM


DARKNESS had fallen over New York City, the sky having turned into a murky mantle on which a myriad of pleasant stars were scattered, while the lights of the city, particularly those in the theatrical district along midtown Broadway, were so clustered and brilliant that they threw a soft glow high toward the night heavens. The streets were a happy rumble of traffic sounds, for this was the hour around eight o'clock in the evening when Gothamites went to the theater.

Clark Savage, Jr., rode through the city in a taxicab.

The giant man of bronze, who was better known as Doc Savage, was breaking a personal rule, doing something he almost never did. He was preparing to appear on a stage, before an audience, and exhibit one of his many abilities.

Now he rode in a taxicab, heading toward huge and famous Metropolitan Hall, where he was to stand on a stage and play a violin. Later in the program, he understood he was scheduled to "lick a licorice stick" and "send out with some hep cats," which was the current slang way of saying he was to play a clarinet with a good orchestra. He did not mind mixing classical music with popular "swing," because he had no false, highbrow ideas about what music should be.

Still, he would as soon not have done this.

There would be an audience - his appearance had been advertised in the newspapers - and among the audience might possibly be some enemies. A great many men would like to see an end to him, he knew. This was natural, because of his unusual career of righting wrongs which the law did not seem able to remedy.

He did not feel any special fear, for he had been in real danger too many times before. Also he had learned that fear was a bad thing to allow in the mind when one followed a career such as his. For the rest, he knew he would enjoy the program tonight, because he liked all types of music, although he rarely had a chance to enjoy it.

Doc Savage had not been able to enjoy many of the pleasant things in the life of a normal man. Prom infancy, he had been trained by elderly, learned scientists who had forgotten how to play; and sometimes he wondered if this unusual upbringing didn't cause him to unconsciously regard men and women with reference to the psychological classification of their minds and how many chemical elements their bodies contained.

Tonight, he would enjoy himself.

He was appearing in Metropolitan Hall because the proceeds were going to a really deserving charity.

His appearance was scheduled for late in the program, and he intended to find a quiet spot in the audience where he could sit unobserved and enjoy the early numbers.

He did not expect to be noticed. As a matter of fact, he had no public reputation at all as a musician, so he doubted very much that his name among the artists would bring anyone near Metropolitan Hall tonight.

As the taxicab drew nearer Metropolitan Hall, it began stopping with increased frequency. Traffic was becoming unaccountably thick. Finally, the cab became wedged in a traffic jam and could not move.

"Just what," Doc Savage asked, "seems to be wrong?"

His voice was deep and gave an impression of controlled power.

"There's umpteen thousand people," the taxi driver explained. "Lookit 'em! The whole block is packed."

This seemed to be a fact.

The taxi driver said, "Pay me, if you don't mind."

Doc paid him. The taxi driver then got out and slammed the door.

"I'm gonna go get a look at the guy, too," he said.

"A look at who?" Doc asked, surprised. The driver snorted at such ignorance.