"Kenneth Robeson - Doc Savage 002 - The Land of Terror" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

"I could not resist the temptation to tell you of this remarkable man," he said proudly. "Doc Savage studied
under me many years ago. He quickly learned all I knew. Now his knowledge is vastly beyond mine."

He tugged back his right sleeve to display the watch.

"This timepiece was presented to me by Doc Savage at that time, as a token of gratitude," he smiled. "I am
proud to say he is still my friend."

Jerome Coffern gave his topcoat a final straightening tug.
"I am on my way now to have dinner with Doc Savage," he smiled. "He is to meet me in front of the plant
immediately. So I shall now bid you gentlemen good afternoon." The eminent chemist quitted the conference
room.

It was the last time his colleagues saw him alive.



THE plant of the Mammoth Manufacturing Company was located in New Jersey, only a short distance from
the great new George Washington Bridge across the Hudson River into New York City.

The brick buildings of the plant were modern and neat. Spacious grounds surrounded them. Shrubbery grew
in profusion and was kept neatly trimmed. The walks were of concrete.

Standing on the high steps in front of the building where the conference of chemists had been held, Jerome
Coffern glanced about eagerly. He was anxious to get a glimpse of the man he considered the most
remarkable in the worldтАФhis friend, Doc Savage.

It was perhaps a hundred yards across a vista of landscaped shrubbery to the main highway.

A car stood on the highway. It was a roadster, very large and powerful and efficient. The color was a reserved
gray.

Seated in the car was a figure an onlooker would have sworn was a statue sculptured from solid bronze!

The effect of the metallic figure was amazing. The remarkably high forehead, the muscular and strong mouth,
the lean, corded cheeks denoted a rare power of character. The bronze hair was a shade darker than the
bronze skin. It lay straight and smooth.

The large size of the roadster kept the bronze man from seeming the giant he was. Too, he was marvelously
proportioned. The bulk of his great frame was lost in its perfect symmetry.

Although he was a hundred yards from the bronze man, Jerome Coffern could almost make out the most
striking feature of all about Doc Savage.

For the bronze man was Doc Savage. And the most striking thing about him was his eyes. They were like
pools of fine flake gold glistening in the sun. Their gaze possessed an almost hypnotic quality, a strange
ability to literally give orders with their glance.

Undeniably, here was a leader of men, as well as a leader in all he undertook. He was a man whose very
being bespoke a knowledge of all things, and the capacity to dominate all obstacles.