"Doc Savage Adventure 1945-03 The Ten Ton Snakes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doc Savage Collection)

"They grabbed him," Renny concluded, "when I was in the other room getting my hat and coat. They must have jerked him into the reception room and locked the door between the two offices before he began to fight. The fight must have been a beaut. It only lasted a couple of seconds, because it was over, and everybody was gone, by the time I could find something heavy enough to break down the door."

"You searched for French?" Doc asked. He had a voice which was somewhat startling because of the impression it gave of controlled volume and power. It had a quality which highly trained voices have.

"Sure I looked. I ran into the corridor, yelling for French. I didn't get an answer. I dashed back and telephoned the elevator starter downstairs to keep his eyes open for a man of French's description. But I must have been too late, because French hasn't left since. He might still be in the building, of course."

"Where did this fight take place?"

"The reception room."

Doc said, "Let's have a look."

In the reception room, he picked up the broken pieces of the office girl's chair and examined them.

"Where was your office girl?" he asked.

"Mrs. Carter goes home at four," Renny explained. "It was about four-fifteen when this happened. She had already gone."

The office girl's desk was overturned on the floor.

"Where was the desk placed before?" Doc asked. "Let's put it back where it was."

Renny returned the desk to its original position. "About here, I think," he said.

Doc Savage examined the desk, and thoughtfully compared the parts of the chair to the marks on the top of the desk. He gave more attention to scratches on the side of the desk.

Renny said, "They tore half of his blouse off him. Here it is."

Doc looked at the blouse.

"Would you like to hear some Sherlock Holmes work on this?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Renny inquired.

"Nobody attacked your man," Doc said. "He staged the thing himself."


RENNY scratched his head doubtfully. "I don't see how you figure that."

There was only a narrow space between the desk and the wall, where the office girl's chair would normally have been. Doc stood there.

"From the marks on the desk, the chair was swung by someone standing about here," he said. "You'll notice there is hardly room for anyone to have been in front of the chair when it was swung, indicating French picked up the chair and smashed it down on the desk.

"The marks on the side of the desk indicate it was kicked several times in the same place. That could happen in a fight, but it is hardly likely.

"None of the chair fragments show traces of having hit a man.
A chair, or even a chair leg, is a heavy weapon, and if you struck
a man with one, some blood or hair or hide should adhere to the
weapon."