"010 (B010) - The Phantom City (1933-12) - Lester Dent" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

"It is well none in this city can understand the language she speaks," a man said thoughtfully. "Only you, 0 enlightened one, can converse with her. And it took you, even with your learning, many days to master a few words of her tongue."



"Watch the street!" snapped the hidden man. "Draw your guns! But use them only to produce fright!"



One fellow muttered: "The girl should be slain - "



"Fool! We may need her to guide us to this Phantom City! We keep her alive and unharmed. Understand that. If something happens to a hair of her white head, Allah help the man responsible!"



The four squatting men drifted uneasy glances at the box, as if it held a dangerous monster. They feared this master of theirs.



"The bronze man whose arrival we await - is he the only one we have crossed the ocean to see?" one fellow mumbled.



"He is the one," said the voice in the box. "He is Doc Savage!"





TWO blocks distant, a limousine cruised to a street intersection and turned left. The car was long, expensive, somber in color. There was nothing flashy about it. The windows were up.



The traffic cop on the corner glanced at the license tags. He snapped erect. In New York, low license numerals designate the cars of the influential - this one was a single figure. The officer squinted to see who was in the machine. He smiled widely and executed a brisk salute.



Several pedestrians who chanced to gaze at the car fell to staring, jaws slack. Each of them recognized instantly the limousine occupant.



At the next corner, a fat man stepped back to the curb to let the big machine pass. He got a good look at the man behind the wheel. He nearly dropped a bundle he was carrying.



"For the love of mud!" he breathed