"017 (B002) - The Thousand-Headed Man (1934-07) - Lester Dent" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

"No b'long savvy," some one offered.

"I have heard of this Doc Savage, heard that his methods are incredible," Sen Gat snapped. "It is plain you fellows were tricked."

Sen Gat considered - and reached a wrong conclusion. "Doc Savage's men must have thought they could get rid of us by frightening you away. They were mistaken. We need all three of those black keys. All three may be necessary when we reach the Thousand-headed Man. We will get them."

The victims of Monk's darts were holding their heads; they registered anything but optimism.

"A little wine will cheer you up." Sen Gat eyed the man whom Maples had struck with the paving rock. "Get the wine - the bottle we just opened in the rear room."

The flunkey shuffled out, was gone for perhaps a minute, and brought back a wicker-wrapped bottle and glasses. He poured a round and distributed the filled goblets.

"To our securing the three black keys!" said Sen Gat, and they all drank, including the one who had brought the sweet wine.

The effects were almost instantaneous. The men reeled, made foolish gibberihg noises, then sank to the floor. Their eyes remained open. They did not lose consciousness, but babbled, mumbled and squirmed about. There was something idiotic in their behavior.

There was movement in the doorway, but no eyes were drawn to the aperture; none seemed to realize that the giant man of bronze whom they had been discussing now stood m the opening. Doc Savage held a flat padded container in which reposed numerous small phials. He was returning an empty bottle to the container, which he in turn pocketed.

As Doc moved forward, there was a silent ease in his tread which indicated how he had managed to shift about in the house without any one knowing of his presence. The lock on the front door had offered little obstruction, for he had studied locks intensively in the past and this chanced to be one of the simplest types.

His retreat to the rear room to drug the sweet wine after he had overheard the flunkey being ordered to get it had required fast footwork, however.

Doc now grasped Sen Gat and dragged him aside. The unusual finger nails held his attention for a moment. He knew their meaning. Orientals considered such finger nails the mark of a gentleman, they being visual proof that the owner had done no work for a long time.

A search of Sen Gat brought to light the black stick which Maples had tried unsuccessfully to get. Doc placed it in a pocket with the one Maples had tossed to him at the

"I overheard some of the talk," Doc now said. There was quiet power in the bronze man's voice. "These black sticks are keys. Keys to what?" What followed would have chagrined Sen Gat mightily had he been in a normal condition, for he made a truthful reply, slow and stumbling, it was true, but nevertheless an answer denuded of fabrication.

"They are the keys to the mystery of The Thousand-headed Man," he said.

"What is this Thousand-headed Man?" Doc asked.

"It is a legend of my country." Sen Gat shut his eyes and seemed entirely at peace, soothed by the powerful tones of the bronze man.

Doc kept his voice calm. "Tell me of this legend."

The drug which Doc Savage had put into the sweet wine was the bronze man's own special concoction of the chemical mixture known to the American police as "truth serum."

This brew was not perfect, and Sen Gat would have to be handled carefully or his drugged mind would go off on a tangent, so that the only information obtained would be a senseless conglomeration of unrelated facts.

"Several hundred years ago there was a city deep in the jungles of Indo-China," Sen Gat said in his queer, stupefied voice. "It was a large city. It was occupied by a prosperous, happy people. The people were very learned."

His voice trailed off, and came to a stop.

"Go on," Doc urged

"One day something walked into the city, something so terrible that the populace - every man, woman and child - at once fled and never returned."

"Was the city abandoned?"