"killersusesewers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lewis Stafford)

toward a sewer manhole! A couple more were lifting the manhole cover, and the fifth was
directing operations.

Dave sized the situation up. The distance and light were not good for shooting;
yet something had to be done, fast. The manhole was filled with chlorine, a deadly gas
used to purify the sewage.

Dave took advantage of the men's interest in the girl to make a fifty-foot dash to
the control room. He entered it by the back way and promptly moved to the chlorine
machine to shut off the gas. Then he looked at the dial which showed the pumping rate
and periods when the sewage was moving.

That taken care of, Dave Sands walked through a door, past the showers and into the
front entrance room, where he pushed a sliding window outward so he could shoot toward
the manhole.

The girl was in a tough spot. Three men were holding her arms, trying to force her,
feet-first, through the manhole and down into the chlorine gas and sewage. As he watched
through the window, Dave could see the girl didn't have a chance; but she was fighting.
Her legs spread wide, with a foot braced on each side of the open manhole, she was stub-
bornly resisting all attempts to force her down to death.

The girl screamed as the man on the fat side kicked her foot from its braced position
on the manhole edge. The foot twisted, as if the ankle were broken. Then the fiend moved
to the other side for the final kick that would knock the girl's remaining foot from under
her and send her down to a horrible death in deadly gas and filth.

Dave Sands forgot that only three men were around the girl. He had his .38 in his hand
and was watching the gun barrel rock in line wish a dark coat tail. He squeezed the trigger
just as the killer's kick was nearing the girl's last, bracing ankle. The murderer jerked
as though he had been hit with a sledge hammer, screamed as he went down, his kick stopped
in midair.

The sound of leather scratching on the concrete floor reminded Dave of the two killers
who had disappeared. The sound came from behind him.

As he jerked around, a voice snarled: "I got him."

The speaker caught Dave's gun hand and sunk a hard right under the V of Dave Sand's
ribs in a paralyzing blow. Dave sagged. He was unable to move, but still able to see and
think, as he felt himself held up between two men.

One man said: "All right, let's throw him in the manhole before he comes around enough
to fight. We can tie the girl's ankles and let her down. This sap will untie her and make
it look right."


Dave Sands was just beginning to regain the use of his muscles as he saw the girl's legs
coming down into the manhole. He was thankful he had turned off the deadly chlorine as his
supporting hands touched the girl's waist. He lowered her gently as he noticed the sharp,