DOC SAVAGE: THE WAR MAKERS (The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage) by Kenneth Robeson & Will Murray & Ryerson Johnson

Author:Kenneth Robeson & Will Murray & Ryerson Johnson [Robeson, Kenneth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Action and Adventure
Publisher: Altus Press
Published: 2014-05-18T03:00:00+00:00

Chapter XIII

FIRE ON THE WATER

THE SUSPICIOUS MILK truck drove south, out of the metropolitan Tampa area, farther down the Gulf Coast several miles, until it reached the Gandy Bridge, which took it across the causeway into the sprawling city of St. Petersburg.

By this time the steady rain had abated and night had fully descended upon Florida.

Behind the wheel, the nervous cabdriver remarked to Habeas Corpus, “This is going to cost your master a pretty penny.”

Habeas grunted noncommittally, and gave one long ear a good scratching.

“But as long as he’s got the dough, what do I care?” shrugged the cabby, who had started talking to Habeas after failing to get a rise out of the grieving attorney.

In the rear seat, Ham Brooks sniffed, “There will be no difficulty about the fare.”

“From the way you’re all duded up,” the driver said conversationally, “I wouldn’t doubt it.”

“I happen to be wearing the finest clothes any man could afford,” snapped Ham, who was sensitive about his apparel.

“Didn’t I just say that?” quipped the driver.

The milk truck, surprisingly, found its way to the waterfront, and a cramped dockage for private boats and pleasure yachts.

Ham was not greatly surprised to see the coffin-hooded black touring machine that had spirited Monk Mayfair away only hours before parked nearby. It appeared to be empty.

The dapper lawyer said abruptly, “Pull over here. I will walk the remaining distance.”

The driver quoted a very substantial fare.

Ham paid by peeling out a crisp fifty dollar bill, saying, “You may keep the change.”

This impressed the driver, who got out and opened the door, not only for Ham but for Habeas the pig, with a rather elaborate flourish. He tipped his uniform cap, then wheeled his cab away to seek the nearest saloon.

Gripping his slim sword cane in one hand, Ham moved through the moonlit darkness, and observed the milk truck jerk into a parking space. The driver doused his lights and slipped from the vehicle and made his way to the dock of a particularly sumptuous looking cabin cruiser, whose length neared sixty feet.

With Habeas following him on clicking hooves, Ham went to the dairy truck, saw that the back was padlocked, and picked the lock with practiced ease.

Throwing open the doors, he discovered two complicated electrical devices that looked as unfamiliar as they were disquieting. They appeared to have been built around transformers.

“No doubt these are the devilish contraptions that generated the fields of force with which we have been contending,” mused Ham aloud.

Habeas grunted as if in agreement. He sat down to resume his vigorous scratching.

Alone among Doc Savage’s men, the dapper lawyer was no scientist. He understood electrical and mechanical apparatus sufficiently to be cautious around them. The temptation to disable these unfamiliar devices was strong in him. Greater still was his caution. He did not wish to risk electrocution, and furthermore understood that Doc himself would prefer that any scientifically-advanced machine fall into his capable hands for study.

Relocking the doors, Ham began to creep toward the cabin cruiser, which rocked gently in the lapping waves of Tampa Bay.

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