"Doc Savage Adventure 1945-01 The Hate Genius" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doc Savage Collection)

"The request came directly from the White House, which sounds rather wild also," he said, uncomfortably.

He crouched beside the red-headed man still dangling Pat's six-gun idly in his fingers.

He added, "Here is what I'm trying to tell you. No one seems to know the whereabouts of this man we are to catch. However, I have a means of locating him which should work -- and will work, providing no one interferes with us. Everything hinges on that -- no one interfering with us. For that reason, we have to get tough with this fellow here. I do not know who he is, or what his game was, but he's out of luck. We can't have him interfering now. Because if things work out right, we'll be able to lay our hands right on this man we're supposed to catch."

He closed his eyes and thought: God help me, that is close to lying. He had never lied to Monk or Pat or Ham. Not exactly. He had shaved the truth a few times, and always regretted it.

While he was repenting, the red-headed man snatched the big six-shooter out of his hands.


THE red-headed man was quick and violent. He was coming to his feet when he said, "Don't move, babies, or I'll blow you apart!"

The fellow stood there, as if afraid to make another move. He held the big gun too tightly, and it shook a little, enough to worry Monk and Pat -- and it would have worried Doc if he hadn't unloaded it a while ago.

Pat stared at the gun. It was large, so much larger when you were looking at the producing end. Age and use had made the metal shiny and smooth, and the large ivory grips were as smooth as pearls from much use. The red-headed man's hand looked so strained that it was a little yellow on the grips, and It was sweating. Leaving a beautiful set of finger prints, Pat thought. She hoped she wouldn't be shot with her own gun, not with a weapon that was a cherished heirloom like this one.

The red-headed man began backing away.

Doc said, "There are no shells in that gun."

The man laughed, but not as if it was funny. "You should know," he said.

"That's right, I should know," Doc said, and went toward him.

The red-headed man's face suddenly blanched. He pointed the gun at the ground. He pulled the trigger. Nothing happened except the hammer-fall click.

Monk said, "Damn, It's not loaded," and he made for the man.

Doc Savage, to stop Monk, pretended to stumble and got under Monk's feet, bringing Monk down. They tied up in a pile in the grass.

The red-headed man threw the six-shooter at Doc. He threw it as hard as he could, missed Doc with the gun because Doc dodged, then whirled and tucked his elbows into his ribs and took out through the woods like a deer.

Pat said something wild and angry and chased the fellow. Pat was fast on her feet for a girl, but no equal of the red-headed man. He outdistanced her.

Doc told Monk in a low voice, "Don't catch him. Work at it, but don't catch him!"

Monk was dumfounded. "I'll be danged! You deliberately let him get away!"

Doc said, "Chase him. Make him think it's real"

They did that. They charged around through the thick woodland, carefully finding no trace of the redheaded man.

Doc said, "I'm going back and get Pat's gun. We've got to keep that cannon away from her, or she's going to shoot somebody."

Monk and Doc both searched for Pat's six-shooter in the brush, and found it before Pat joined them. Doc put the big weapon inside his shirt.

"We'll just forget to tell Pat we picked this up," he told Monk. "The way she likes to wave the thing around makes me nervous.