"058 (B055) - The Golden Peril (1937-12) - Harold Davis" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

One of the coke-fiend gangsters let out a scream.
"I've got 'em, I've got 'em!" he yelled. "Lemme go! I'm goin' straight to Bellevue!"
He dropped his Tommy gun and dived toward the door. It was the signal for a stampede. Overtensed nerves could stand no more. Rat-faced figures fought each other to get to the hallway, the white-haired leader among them. In the space of seconds, the office was cleared.
Then the elevator doors opened again. Doc Savage stepped out.
Chapter V. A WARNING
LONG TOM'S jaw sagged as Doc untied him. His eyes held a vacant look. His fingers played with a lobe of one oversized ear.
"I've seen you pull a lot of stuff, Doc, but how was that done?" he asked weakly.
"I caught your signal when you pressed the baseboard," the bronze man explained. "So I went to the room below, looked into the panoramic television in the ceiling, and saw the gang.
"The desk was wired to turn over a page of the memo pad. And the chair seat was wired to sag when I wanted it to. The restЧthe sound effectsЧwas done by micro-waves and ventriloquism."
"Oh!" Long Tom's expression cleared. Then his face showed admiration. An electrical genius of no mean ability himself, those few words had been sufficient explanation.
"That's something new. I've been working on it, but never got so far. In other words, the micro radio waves hit the diaphragm of the telephone in whatever room you aimed them at, and reverted into sound, and by ventriloquism you make it appearЧ"
Doc nodded. "What happened?" he interrupted.
Long Tom explained swiftly and somewhat shamefacedly. "Our opponent, whoever he is, not only has money and an exceedingly alert organization, but he must also have imagination and brains," the bronze man commented. "I believe Vardon was right. The stakes are high."
"So much the more reason for us to get to Europe in a hurry," the electrical wizard said glumly. "I suppose we'll have to stick our necks out again for some rough gang to take a crack at. IЧ"
The door burst open with the bang of a cannon. Ham bolted into the room. His usually immaculate attire was disheveled. He showed unusual excitement. He was waving a newspaper in one hand.
"Look! Look!" His words were wheezing gasps.
Long Tom craned his neck and moved forward. "Now, Ham, take it easy. Excitement is bad for your heart."
Ham thrust the paper at Doc. "This extra just hit the streets. I grabbed it and came on up. Monk went on to get the plane ready. Read this!"
Across the front of the newspaper were big headlines:
BIG REVOLT IN HILDALGO!
TROOPS STORM PALACE!
Only a few lines of reading matter were under the headlines. Evidently but little information had been received when the extra had been put to press.
"Hidalgo!" breathed Long Tom. "That must mean old Carlos Avispa is in danger. But what about the gold? Is that lost?"
THE bell of a telephone sounded. Doc lifted the receiver.
"Mister Savage? I am speaking for the secretary of state." The voice was smooth, almost regretful.
"Yes?"
"I am afraid the news we have for you may already be in the papers, but we wished to verify it before calling you."
"Thank you," said Doc. "And the message?"
"There has been an uprising in Hidalgo. Knowing your interests there, the secretary of state asked me to give you what facts we have."
"And those are?"
"Few, very few, I am sorry to say. We do know there was a sudden uprising, seemingly by a majority of President Avispa's troops. What caused it, or why, I do not know. An attack is believed to have been launched on the palace. But all communication was severed after we had received but one short bulletin. Whether the government of Hidalgo has been overthrown or not, we do not know."
"I see. I wish to thank you for calling." The bronze man spoke slowly.
The speaker at the other end of the line coughed slightly. "IЧweЧerЧwe realize, Mister Savage, that this may be a blow to you. President Avispa, we know, is a personal friend of yours. And we understand you have big interests there. But, ahЧahЧ"
"Yes?" Doc's voice did not raise, but there was a sudden firmness in its tone.
"AhЧwell, the secretary asked me to remind you not to get into any entanglements with Hidalgo. United States citizens must not participate in the quarrels of other countries." He paused, then added:
"I am sorry, sir."
Doc Savage hung up the receiver slowly.
"A FINE pickle!" raged Ham, after the bronze man had related the phone conversation. He paced to and fro rapidly. "Avispa and our gold in danger, and we must stand byЧhelpless!"
"There are many things to consider," Doc Savage reminded quietly. "The fact remains that much trouble has been, and will be, avoided with other countries if United States citizens minded their own business."
"Yes, it is justified, undoubtedly; but not in this case." Ham straightened, became Brigadier General Theodore Marley Brooks. He spoke in his best courtroom manner:
"But this situation is different, your honЧpardon, I mean Doc. If we went to Hidalgo it would not be to embroil our country in a private war. We would go merely as friends of the duly constituted authorities, to lend our advice and counselЧ"
"And to do a little scrapping, if necessary," Long Tom interposed, with a sly grin.
"For all we know, President Avispa may be dead," Ham continued, with a stern glance at Long Tom. "The country may be in the hands of rebels. Our friends, the Mayans, may be endangered. We owe them a debt we can never repay. BesidesЧ" The lawyer hesitated. "Incidentally, Doc, we were not told definitely that we couldn't go, were we?"
The bronze man shook his head, said, "No. I was merely reminded not to interfere with anything that might drag the United States into trouble with Hidalgo. We would experience no trouble from the law if we went to Hidalgo, provided we left before our passports to Hidalgo are suspended."
"ButЧbut," sputtered Long Tom. "You told Baron Vardon we would go to Switzerland, that we would leave at once! Even if our sympathies are with President Avispa in Hidalgo, we cannot go there until that job is taken care of."
"No," contradicted Doc softly. "I did not promise that we would go to Switzerland at once." Light flamed in his flake gold eyes. "What I did say was that we would undertake at once the task Baron Vardon suggested. We will do that. But now, we will go to Hidalgo. I believe the uprising there has a definite connection with the plot Baron Vardon mentioned."
Ham's face shone with delight. "The attorney for the plaintiff wins his case," he beamed. "Of course, I'm sorry we will be there just as advisers and can't get into the fighting, butЧ"
He danced about, using his sword cane to spar with an imaginary enemy.
"Always thinking of fighting," Long Tom said disgustedly.
"Ham, you go on down to the plane, help Monk load," the bronze man put in. "You know the equipment we should have."