"014 (B007) - The Monsters (1934-04) - Lester Dent" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

Inside the Big Top, the ringmaster was bellowing, "And now we are going to present that extravagant, unparalleled exhibition of human nerve!" He paused to get the proper drama. "Jean Morris, and her troop of blood-thirsty, untamed lions!"



Bruno Hen loitered about in hopes of getting another glimpse of the young woman with the amazing steel hair. But she did not appear. He concluded she must have left by another exit.



He got to thinking of the pinheads again, and his rage arose. He stalked off the circus grounds, bought some groceries in Trapper Lake and betook himself home.



Bruno Hen had no idea that he had laid almost the full foundation for future disaster.





BRUNO HEN'S cabin was located not far from the shore of lake Superior. The structure was a patchwork of logs, cheap slab lumber and tar paper. It had one room. An open fireplace served for both warmth and cooking. There was a window, and plenty of cracks for ventilation.



Except for big, slow-witted Carl MacBride, who lived half a mile down the lake shore, there were no near neighbors, There was no telephone, and Bruno Hen took no newspaper.



Hence, when the Atlas Congress of Wonders went bankrupt in Trapper Lake after counting the proceeds of its last performance, Bruno Hen did not learn of the fact immediately.



The day following his experience at the circus, he expertly robbed a gill net set by Carl MacBride. He took only such fish as he wished to eat; but instead of leaving the others in the net, he removed them and tossed them aside. He was not doing the fish a kindness, for he knocked each finny specimen in the head before discarding it. There was a peculiar twist to Bruno Hen's brain which made him delight in cruelty.



The pretty circus lion tamer haunted his thoughts somewhat. Memory of her steel-hued hair especially stuck with him.



The next few days Bruno spent in overhauling his canoe, replacing a staved rib or two, and applying a coat of varnish. The fishing season was near. With the coming of summer, he usually traveled south to a district more inhabited, where he offered his services as a guide.



It was a week to the day after his visit to the circus when Bruno Hen took his next step toward disaster.



He was getting a late supper when he heard a noise. He was frying fish. Over the sputter of grease, he thought he heard a low moan.