"013 (B003) - Meteor Menace (1934-03) - Lester Dent" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

Whatever the mysterious blue meteor was, these men obviously feared it more than they dreaded the possibility of being, after death, sent back to earth in the form of rabbits, which, in some Tibetans, is their idea of going to hell.



"We will draw away a safe distance," Saturday Loo said hoarsely. "Inside this blanket of a thing which I am wearing is a signal gun. When the bronze man appears, I am to discharge the weapon into the sky."



"And the blue meteor will come?" asked a man.



"Aye. And the blue meteor will come."



They moved through the crowd. Not wishing to attract attention, they curbed a natural inclination to elbow people out of their path, and only jostled gently.



"How far is a safe distance?" asked one Tibetan.



"A very great distance!" muttered another.



"Two hundred yards, in this case," said Saturday Loo.



"But the blue meteor has been known to affect men for miles - "



"Two hundred yards!" snapped Saturday Loo. "This time, it is not powerful."





AS the villainous Saturday Loo and his fellow miscreants worked out of the crowd and took up a position in the shade of a rickety stand selling beer, fruit and empanadas, or meat pies, there was one person who watched them intently.



The observer was a young woman; and in her gaze was fear, loathing, and a growing horror.