Mad Mesa: A Doc Savage Adventure by Robeson Kenneth

Author:Robeson, Kenneth [Dent, Lester Bernard]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Adventure
Publisher: Distributed Proofreaders Canada
Published: 1939-05-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter XI

PHANTOM FREIGHT

The driver of the taxicab which Doc Savage’s five aids occupied was a good Mormon who attended to his own business and did not usually inquire into the affairs of his passengers. But the crew he had aboard at the present time obviously had him puzzled.

His passengers had identified themselves as being associated with Doc Savage, but that meant nothing to the driver, since he had never heard of the Man of Bronze. The fares seemed a daffy crowd. They were jammed in the back seat now, listening to squeaks, scratches and—at rare intervals—understandable words that came out of a portable radio set. They were very serious about this.

Furthermore, they were three black men, a white-haired old lady and a tall skinny fellow with snowy whiskers. A circus assortment.

The black one who looked like an ape said, “I wonder who that was in the penitentiary they ordered killed?”

This made several times the fellow had wondered aloud about that killing.

The taxi driver made a mental resolution to report this business to the police as soon as he got rid of his passengers.

“Holy cow!” one of his passengers rumbled. “There they go!”

A moment later, the hackman was ordered to follow the same car which he had trailed to this spot, and also an additional machine which had been pressed into use by the men his strange assortment of fares seemed to be following. The driver obeyed. After all, he had a wife and four children who would get hungry if anything happened to him.

“I wonder what’s become of Doc?” the black ape passenger growled.

“An enigmatically obfuscated interrogation,” stated another.

There’s a sample, thought the driver. You couldn’t understand that one if you did know what he was talking about.

It got dark suddenly, the way it does in clear, dry countries. A bank of clouds pushing up in the west to shut off the twilight made the coming of night doubly swift, like a curtain being drawn.

The pursuit wound its way to the railroad yards, where the two cars ahead discharged their passengers, who promptly disappeared into the thicket of railroad side-tracks with obvious furtiveness.

“As soon as we find that girl,” growled the black ape of a passenger, “I’m gonna start in bustin’ necks!”

The taxi driver shuddered and resolved to buy some life insurance. He had never believed in insurance.

His fares alighted.

“You wait here,” one of them ordered.

The five men moved away as silently as ghosts, and were swallowed by the darkness. The driver peered after them, but saw no sign that any of them had lingered near. It was now quite dark.

The taxi driver decided to leave the spot, call the police, and be rid of a bad job.

He started the motor, meshed gears, and the cab began to move.

A man came out of the darkness and landed on the cab running board.

“Going some place?” the man snarled.

The driver realized the man was a stranger. The fellow had the kind of face that interests policemen.

“I was just driving off,” the driver mumbled.

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