"Kenneth Robeson - Doc Savage 163 - The Exploding Lake" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

Where Juan got his idea of humor was a question, but it was probably from American comic strips. His
humor was of an obvious sort. He had, for instance, christened his pack mules Andy and Uncle Bim.
Andy, who was perverse and unpredictable, carried the tools and what equipment that could not be
broken easily. Uncle Bim was used for the provisions, the necessities. You could depend on Uncle Bim
as much as it was safe to depend on a Patagonian mule. And Andy would follow Uncle Bim.

Uncle BimтАФthe mule was not all angelтАФsuddenly balked. With feet planted and head down, he stopped
at the crest of a hill.

тАЬGet going, you blank-blank so-and-so,тАЭ Juan urged. He did not have much confidence in the profanity.
He jabbed a thumb in Uncle Bim's ribs, and that didn't get results either.

Beneath them a couple of thousand feet, then outflung for miles, lay an irregular plateau, its surface dotted
with a series of small lakes. The view was imposing. Juan Russel paused to gaze at it, for he liked this
countryтАФhe liked the view down there, although it was far less imposing than what he had seen recently.
He had been skirting the edges of an almost inaccessible and little-known glacier, and it was lovely
country. The practical side of him had made wondering note of huge waterfalls, with their promise of
unlimited power. He had found indications of oil formations, not exactly oilтАФbut could be. And he had
been interested in ore outcroppings. This country, Juan thought, will be a hell of a place, some day.

He walked around in front of Uncle Bim and prepared to strike a match. Uncle Bim was impressed by
fire. A lighted match in front of his mule-noseтАФit didn't need to touch himтАФwould cure him of a balk.

Juan made the first pass at the match with his thumbnail. The results were more impressive on Juan than
the mule. First there was a blinding, an incredible, glare of light. Juan peered, half-blinded, at the match in
his hand. It was un-struck. It had not caused whatever had happened.

тАЬWhat the hell!тАЭ Juan gasped.

Then came the blast. Powerful, it shook the hill itselfтАФthen the sound, and the sound was enough to
paralyze the eardrums for a few moments.

тАЬEarthquake!тАЭ thought Juan. He flung himself flat, a good thing to do when there was an earthquake, he
had heard.

Presently, he said stupidly, тАЬNo earthquake!тАЭ and sat up and looked around.

He saw, down below in the comparatively level pampas, a gigantic billow of dark smoke that was
growing and mushrooming as it lifted into the sky. The proportions of the thing were astounding.

Uncle Bim, the mule, was regarding his owner with admiration. Apparently he thought one match had
caused all this, and he was impressed.

The mule stood with docility while Juan got out his binoculars and took a look at the base of the smoke
column.

As nearly as Juan could tell, there should have been a small lake at the base of the smoke plume, and it
was not there.
Juan was a scientist, as all metallurgists are to an extent, and presently the fear began to touch him. He