"Doc Savage Adventure 1943-05 The Talking Devil" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doc Savage Collection)

MR. MONTAGUE Ogden was more blunt about it. He came into Doc Savage's headquarters with his jaw out and his hands made into fists, and he was accompanied by two gentlemen who carried brief cases and looked like bulldogs.

"Mr. Savage," Ogden said, "I am not at all satisfied with the thing you did to poor Sam Joseph."

"Just what do you mean, Ogden?" Doc Savage asked.

"Why did you perform that brain operation on Sam Joseph?"

"For the same reason that you operate for an appendix," Doc said. "It seemed to be the thing to do. The man's symptoms indicated brain tumor."

"So you said."

The most outstanding of Doc Savage's features was probably his unusual eyes, like pools of flake gold always stirred by tiny winds. These took on a rather cold light now.

"You will recall," he said, "that Dr. Nedden and two other brain specialists agreed with me on the diagnosis."

Montague Ogden drew himself up.

"They have admitted," he snapped, "that they took your word for it. As a matter of truth they were so overawed by your-ah-reputation that they did not wish to disagree with you."

Doc decided this was rather unprofessional behavior on the part of the three doctors, but he made no comment on that, saying instead:

"I am sorry it happened," he said. "There is no denying I made a mistake."


"Sorry," said Ogden, "isn't enough."

"What do you mean?"

"I demand," snapped Ogden, "that you make a cash settlement of five hundred thousand dollars on Sam Joseph by way of reimbursing him for the peril to which you subjected his life. I also demand that you publish a half-page advertisement in all New York newspapers admitting that you made an error in diagnosis."

Ham Brooks, who was present, jumped to his feet.

Doc waved Ham back. He digested Montague Ogden's demand.

"That is ridiculous, of course," he said.

"I'll show you how ridiculous it is!" Montague Ogden bellowed. He waved to his two bulldog-faced companions. "These are my lawyers, Flack and Morrow. They'll show you how ridiculous it is."

This was too much for Ham. He shot to his feet.

"Get out of here!" Ham yelled. "I know these two shysters, Flack and Morrow. They're crooks of the first water. The only thing different about them is that they are big thieves!"

"We'll sue you for slander!" bellowed a lawyer.

"Who ever heard of one lawyer calling another lawyer a crook being slander?" Ham snarled.

Ham habitually carried an innocent-looking black cane, and almost everyone in the legal profession knew this was a sword cane, the tip of which was coated with a chemical producing quick unconsciousness.