"027 (B020) - The Secret in the Sky (1935-05) - Lester Dent.XT" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

The man with the six-shooter was bony and looked as if he had been under bright suns much of his life. He wore a new suit, but his shirt was a coarse blue work garment, faded from washing. The tie was blue and looked as if it had been put on and taken off many times, without untying the knot. The knot was a very long one.



Doc Savage struck silently and with blinding speed. The gun wielder saw him, but could not move in time. and the bronze man's fist took him on the temple. The six-gun evidently had a hair trigger. It went off. The bullet made a hole, round and neat, in the wall behind Monk.



Monk began howling and charged for the door.



"Now ain't this somethin'!" he bellowed.





DOC SAVAGE had gone on with a continuation of the dive which he had made at the six-gun wielder, and was already through the door. The room beyond was an office with four desks and four swivel chairs.



Five persons were arrayed on the floor. The morgue attendants, obviously. They were neither bound nor gagged, but they lay very still. The odor of chloroform was heavy in the air.



Two men were on their feet. One was tall, the other short, and the short one wore overall pants and his legs were bowed. Both were weather-beaten.



The tall one held in one hand a blue revolver and in the other a bandanna handkerchief, which gave off chloroform stench. The short man had an automatic rifle from which barrel and stock had been bobbed off short.



A bundle of clothing lay in the middle of the floor.



The automatic rifle smacked loudly as Doc came through the door. But the marksman did not lead his target quite enough. He shot again. The cartridge stuck in the ejector.



"Damn it!" the rifleman bawled.



"Throw it away!" gritted the tall man. "I told you that gun wouldn't work if you bobtailed it!"