"H. L. Gold - Fog" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gold H. L)

it.
Inside it was damp and chilly, but there was a tiny office where it was a little warmer and drier than
outside. He tore his wet clothing from him and stretched out on the cold table. There was a huge canvas
tarpaulin, that had been used to cover the rowboats, but it never occurred to him to cover himself with it.
He shivered and drew himself together in a huddle, until the cold wood of the table was warmed by his
body. He fell asleep.
The boathouse on the little lake never saw a stranger sight than the tall, powerful beast-man, covered
with short, thick, straight hair all over his brute body, and breathing heavily, shivering now and again with
the penetrating cold, and drawing himself into a tight ball to protect himself from the damp cold.
There was little sleep in Dr. Cobb's house that night. First they waited for the rain to stop, and when
it did they determined to wait for the sun to come up.
Dr. Cobb sat, his head in his hands. Dr. Rollins stared out of the window or paced furiously up and
down. The' hours passed slowlyтАФmore slowly than Rollins thought they could ever move. Splendidly,
after long hours of deepest darkness, the sun rose. The day promised magnificence.
Rollins turned swiftly on the old doctor. "Now what do we do?" he asked with drawling sarcasm.
Dr. Cobb did not answer. He was asleep. The deadening vigil of the long night had exhausted him.
Rollins stared thoughtfully at him.
They were both in the same boat, he knew. If one got caught, the other would also. And when the
police had proved their crime, it would mean life. If their beast-man should kill some oneтАФ
They had to stick together. There was no sense in antagonizing old Cobb. To save himself he had to
save the old doctor too. They would have to work together.
He shook Dr. Cobb gently by the shoulder until he awoke. "The sun's up," he said, softly. "Now
what do we do?"
Cobb stretched himself slowly. "What do you meanтАФwhat do we do?" he yawned. He started. "I
forgot all aboutтАФhim!"
Rollins shrugged. "I didn't. I've been thinking all night. We've got a damned big piece of territory to
search. We'd better call the police and take our chances."
"Are you crazy?" Dr. Cobb cried. "We'd never get away with thisтАФit's too serious! We can't call the
police. Not until we find we can't get him ourselves, at least."
"Well," Rollins said quietly, sitting down and lighting the last cigarette of the two packs he had
smoked during the night, "we'll probably hear from the papers soon."
"What do you mean?" Cobb asked hoarsely.
"We'll hear from them soon. That is, unless your beast-man behaves himself and keeps on acting like
a domestic animalтАФwhich he won'tтАФyou can depend on that."
Cobb clutched tremblingly at his own throat. "Why?" he wheezed.
"Because he's a beast-man. That's why. And the longer we leave him on his own the more dangerous
he'll become. Just let him get hungry and start searching for his raw meat! You'll find out in the papers just
what happensтАФ"

AT NINE o'clock that morning the keeper of the boathouse walked down the path, searching in his
pocket for the key. A number of people were waiting for him.
It was unnecessary to use the key. The door was open.
"Hey! What's this?" he shouted, sticking his head cautiously in at the door.
The beast-man awoke with a start and jumped off the table.
"Get back!" the keeper screamed in fright. "An ape! Get back!"
Every one leaped out of the way and started running. Startled, the beast-man rushed out of the
boathouse to the security of the trees. He gathered himself together, and leaping to a bough swung
himself from tree to tree, out of sight.
The boathouse keeper scampered into the office and banged the telephone hook up and down until
he got an answer. "Give me the police!" he yelled. "Police! Police! There's an ape loose in the park. A