"Kenneth Robeson - Doc Savage 139 - Weird Valley" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

The old man snorted. “Don't like your tone. Shouldn't have come down here in the first place.”
Ham Brooks stood up and said, “Will you excuse Mr. Mayfair and myself for a few moments? Just wait
right here, and we will be back shortly.”

“Go ahead.” The old fellow snorted. “Gonna put your heads together and decide I'm crazy. I know how
it goes.”

Monk and Ham retired to an inner room, which was Doc Savage's scientific library, and did just exactly
that. They closed the door and lowered their voices.

Monk said, “The old coot is obviously a nut. You could tell that the minute he walked in and started
getting his feelings hurt every time we said anything to him.”

Ham Brooks as a matter of policy hated to agree with Monk about anything. But he was equally
convinced that their visitor was mentally deranged.

“We can't be bothered with him hanging around here,” Ham said.

“No, I've got some laboratory work to do,” Monk agreed.

“Why don't you take him out for a walk, and maybe buy him a meal? Sometimes food quiets them. Find
out where he lives and take him home to his folks,” Ham suggested.

“Why me? What's the matter with you?”

Ham said, “Oh, all right. I'll match you to see who does it.”

Monk sneered at him. “Nothing doing. The last six times we've matched, I've lost. You've got some kind
of a trick coin or gimmick.”

“Well, we can just put him out.”

“Better talk to him first, and decide whether he's the harmless kind of lunatic or not. If he's not harmless,
we'll call the birdie wagon. If he is, one of us will take him home, or something.”

They went back into the reception room. Their elderly, leathery visitor looked at them with small blue
eyes in which wrath sparkled. He was now smoking a large corncob pipe which was reminiscent of a
polecat.

“Decided I was crazy, didn't you?” he bellowed.

“Oh, lower your voice,” Monk said. “After all, the side might fall out of the building.”

The old fellow flapped his arms again.

“Shouldn't have come here!” he howled. “Told that Doctor Frederick Rayburn I would just get insulted!
Told him it wouldn't do any good!”

Ham and Monk exchanged somewhat slack-jawed looks. Doctor Frederick Rayburn was probably the