The Freckled Shark: A Doc Savage Adventure by Lester Dent (pseud. Kenneth Robeson)

Author:Lester Dent (pseud. Kenneth Robeson)
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: fiction, Doc Savage (Fictional character), adventure
Publisher: Distributed Proofreaders Canada
Published: 1939-02-15T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

They rushed back and removed enough ignition wiring from the Haven plane to make sure that no one would fly off with that one.

“You know what?” Monk growled.

“What?” Ham scowled at him.

“That note in the plane door was a trick. It sent us off looking for that tree so they could steal our plane.”

“Then there’s probably nothing in the tree,” Ham said.

“We might make sure of that,” Johnny suggested, using small words.

Five minutes later, they were holding their flashlight beams on the Havens. Tex and Rhoda Haven had not yet mastered enough physical strength to take flight, but there was nothing wrong with their voices; and old Tex had moved his hands enough to get them full of guns.

“Calculate you better start runnin’,” Tex advised, “while you’re able.”

Monk muttered, “Say, that’s the girl who came for us to help. Show her who we are.”

They turned one of the lights upon themselves, giving the lens a twist so that it fanned a wide beam. Their appearance did not impress Tex Haven, because he had not seen them before. Rhoda grabbed one of her father’s gun hands.

“Those are Doc Savage’s men,” she said. “Don’t shoot!”

“I don’t care who they are!” Tex brandished his guns as much as his muscular instability would allow. “I been messed with too much by different people!”

There was an argument between Monk, Ham and Johnny on the ground, and the two Havens up the tree. They compromised on the Havens remaining armed and suspicious, but climbing down out of the tree with the assistance of Monk, who had to show plainly that he carried no weapons. They all walked out onto the small field and stood in the brilliant moonlight.

Tex Haven peered at Monk suspiciously in the moonglow.

“You send one of your gang ahead in your plane, chasing Horst?” he asked.

“No, blast it!” Monk said. “Somebody stole our plane.”

“Eh?”

“We don’t know who it was,” Monk added.

Tex Haven felt of his pockets to make sure that his corncob pipe and stick of black Scotch tobacco had survived. Then he eyed his daughter.

“Henry Peace,” he said, “ran off and left us.”

His daughter kicked a clod indignantly.

“If he did,” she said, “it wasn’t because he was double-crossing us.”

“He said he couldn’t fly,” Tex reminded her reasonably.

Rhoda Haven made several starting-to-say-something noises, but apparently could think of nothing satisfactory.

Tex continued, “You take the cussedest attitude toward this Henry Peace. When he’s around, you act like he was flu germs. The minute he’s out of sight, you start stickin’ up for ’im.”

Rhoda Haven said nothing to that. Monk, who had a great deal more brains than his appearance indicated, realized that this fellow named Henry Peace must have been making some headway with attractive Rhoda Haven. The idea did not appeal to Monk.

Monk said, “We found a note stuck in the door of the plane—ouch!”

Ham had kicked Monk’s shin. “The note said not to mention it,” the lawyer whispered.

“The fruit of the peanut bush to you and Henry Peace both,” Monk said.

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