"Curtis Steele - Operator 5 - 3407 - The Melting Death" - читать интересную книгу автора (Steele Curtis)

Originally published in the July 1934 issue of Operator #5TM
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Copyright у 1934 Popular Publications, Inc.
Copyright (c) renewed 1962 and assigned to Argosy Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved. Licensed to Vintage New Media
Operator #5 is a trademark of Argosy Communications, Inc.
By Curtis Steele
Out of the blue it struck-that dread, mysterious force, dealing death,
destruction and misery to millions. America found herself stripped of
her strongest defenses as battleships, huge guns, skyscrapers, factories
and transportation systems crumbled to dust before the voracious flame.
No one could tell where it came from; where it would next strike; no
one was safe from its hot, devouring maw. An entire nation stood
crippled, paralyzed by panic as Operator 5, alone, fought to save America
from the red ruin loosed upon it.
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CHAPTER ONE
Span of Doom
THE gigantic suspension bridge, spanning
the turbid waters of the Mississippi and linking
together two important states, was about to be
dedicated to the people.
For four years hundreds of men had labored
to erect the tremendous structure. Millions of
man-hours of work had gone into its construction.
The finest architectural and engineering talent in
the United States had combined to make of it a
monument of enduring utility and beauty. The
world had watched its gigantic masonry-encased
piers rise into the sky above the water, and the
weaving of the huge spider-web of cables, until at
last it stood, a miracle in stone and steel.
It was a breath-taking sight, this gargantuan
span, glistening black and white in the clear
sunlight of a Spring day. Its interweaving strands
of steel shone clean and new, its roadbed of
unblemished concrete lay a white stretch beneath
the catenary curves of the thick suspension
cables. No traffic had yet passed across it, but
the hour of its opening to the public was now at
hand.
On the far-reaching ramps, which fanned out
across both banks of the Mississippi, thousands
of automobiles were driven into line, each loaded
with passengers, all eager for the honor of being
among the first to cross the beautiful span. Far
beneath it, numberless boats were shuttling back
and forth in the water. The attention of a million
people was turned to the cleared space on the
bridge midway over the river.