"Kuttner, Henry - Red Gem of Mercury" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kuttner Henry)

of Kentonville's underworld. Too smart for the law. Too strong for his enemies.
All-powerful--
Like hell!
Vane's smile was not good to see. He was visualizing Pasqual, frozen motionless
as the guards had been, screaming for help, facing the death he had arranged for
so many others.
The lawyer turned to Hanley. His young face, with lines of bitterness months of
prison had engraved upon it, was hard.
"Unlock my handcuffs, one of you," he said quietly.
"Yeah?" Hanley's voice was strained but mocking. "I don't know what you've done
to me, but I'm not going to take those cuffs off. I won't--I won't--"
His voice rose into a scream. Because all the time he was talking, Hanley was
reaching into his pocket, taking out a key-ring, selecting a small key, walking
forward and reaching toward Vane's extended wrists . . .
"Thanks," Vane said as the lock clicked. He shook the cuffs off and gingerly
massaged his wrists. "Now--let's see. These prison clothes. They won't do. But a
guard's uniform--" He shook his head, pondering.
"And I can't leave you here. You'd freeze in no time. I don't know why the devil
I care about that, but--I've got it. Listen, the three of you. In ten minutes
you'll be perfectly normal again. You'll go directly back to the prison. You
won't remember anything that happened after you came into this valley. Tony
Apollo and I are dead. You saw us fall into the gorge. We're dead. Do you
understand?"
"We understand," the three chorused. Jaeckel's voice was muffled as he lay face
down in the snow.
Vane grinned suddenly. "Okay, boys," he said, turning. "Good luck!" And he
hurried up the slope toward the ridge and freedom....
HIS mind was furiously active. What now? First of all, he had to get rid of
these betraying clothes and find more suitable garments.
What about the guards? For a second Vane felt an unreasoning premonition, but
dismissed it casually. After all, he owned the magic gem that gave its owner
incredible powers. And--so far--it seemed to work.
It worked on a tourist Vane stopped, too. The man was about his build, he
noticed, and was driving a sedan slowly along the highway that twisted through
the mountains near by. Vane simply stood beside the road and
commanded--inaudibly--"Slow down and stop. Be careful." He did not wish to see
the man kill himself by plunging over the precipice that gaped across the
highway.
The sedan stopped. The man got out. He stared at Vane and gasped, "You're the
escaped con! Don't shoot--"
"Take off your clothes," Vane said.
"I will not!" the man said in a shocked voice, shucking his overcoat. He removed
his necktie. "Undress in the open-air? I've never done such a thing in my life!"
He pulled off his pants. "I won't undress and that's flat!"
"Keep your underwear," Vane smiled, as the man continued to strip. "Swell. Now
get in back and cover yourself up with that afghan I saw there."
"I won't," the man said, crawling into the back seat and pulling the afghan over
him. "I won't."
"Now keep quiet."
There was no answer. Vane donned the garments and got in the front seat. He