"Kenneth Robeson - Doc Savage 136 - The Pharoah's Ghost" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

do practically anything for a few piastres.

Hamamah went into the cab like a groundhog into a hole.

тАЬDrive!тАЭ he gasped. тАЬDrive like the devil.тАЭ

The cab driver was an enormous villain with an almost black skin, a patch over an eye, scar tissue on his
face, and a scratchy voice like a rat running over tin.

тАЬFive hundred piastres,тАЭ he said.

тАЬYou dog! You jackal! You stinking piece of muck!тАЭ said Hamamah. тАЬDrive, you piece of dirt.тАЭ

тАЬA thousand piastres,тАЭ said the driver calmly.

тАЬA thouтАФтАЭ Hamamah choked. тАЬAll right. Drive.тАЭ
The driver snorted.

тАЬIn advance,тАЭ he said.

Hamamah shelled out the money. тАЬYou're a damned thief,тАЭ he said. тАЬGet going, you pile of camel puke.тАЭ

The driver chuckled. тАЬHang on.тАЭ

The old cab took off. Hamamah settled back, wiping off sweat. His scare didn't subside, but at least he
could breathe normally again.

Allah, I was lucky to find this driver, thought Hamamah. The fellow is as big a rascal as I, and exactly
what I needed.

Hamamah's approval of the scamp driver increased as they twisted through Cairo streets. The driver was
from the south, the Nubian country around the Red Sea port of Suakin, concluded Hamamah. The man
had the accent of that district in his speech. It was unusual, thought Hamamah, that he hadn't heard of
such a rascally fellow before.

тАЬYou are a stranger in Cairo?тАЭ he demanded.

The driver grunted.

тАЬMaybe,тАЭ he admitted.

The driver pulled into a side street and changed the identification plates on his car. He substituted a spare
set. Also, the engine cover had been off the taxicab, and the driver calmly produced the cover from
under the front seat, where he obviously must have a special place to store such a large object, and put it
on the car. The addition of the cover would change the most conspicuous descriptive angle of the cab. It
was no longer, тАЬthe cab had a missing engine cover.тАЭ

тАЬYou are a dog who has barked before,тАЭ Hamamah said.

The driverтАФhe was really an enormous fellow, although the stoop in his walk made his size