Кеннет Робсон - Death in Silver

"What's going on here?" he asked. "Who are you?"

The bearded man answered the last question first. "I am Gardner."

"What happened?" Doc repeated.

The coarse voice quavered, "I shall tell that to the police."

"I," Doc pointed out, "have a police commission.

"This is Westchester County," Bedford Burgess Gardner growled. "You may have a New York commission, but it will do you no good here."

"It is a State Trooper commission," Doc advised.

Gardner thought that over while the cane trembled a little under his nervous weight.

"You go to Hell!" he suggested finally. "And also clear out of here! I do not like people around me at night."

There was noise outside, footsteps, and Rapid Pace's voice called out nervously. When Doc answered him, Pace came in.

Gardner pointed a shaking hand at Pace and grated, "You get out, too!"

Pace asked, "Who killed the taxi driver?"

Doc eyed Gardner. "Who did?"

"I don't know," Gardner wailed. "I don't know anything about it!"

"That's going to make it tough for you," said Pace. "Yes, sir!"

Gardner lifted his cane and started for Pace. Pace leaped back, and Doc was forced to move aside to get out of his way.

Changing his course suddenly, Gardner moved for the door.

Nerves overwrought at what he considered an intrusion of his home, he left the room in haste.

- — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Disappointed at the results of the inquiry, Doc started for the hallway, followed by Pace.

There was no sign of Gardner now until they heard sounds from above. Scuffing , scraping sounds.

They ran up a flight of stairs. Doc had his flashlight out. A moment later, they dived through a door into the room that faced on the balcony.

On the floor lay the cane that Gardner had carried. Near it were wet crimsonspots. A chair was upset.

"Been a fight," said Pace. "A fight, sure! But was it the taxi driver or was Gardner being seized? Is this Gardner's blood or the taxi driver's? That's the question."

Doc Savage lunged forward, swooped, and picked up a shiny limp fragment from the floor. It was a bit of silver cloth, ragged, as if torn from one of the weird garments of the mysterious silver men.

"They got Gardner," Pace muttered. "Or did they?"

Doc Savage glided to the nearest door, opened it, and went through.

Slow in following, Pace reached the door and seemed frightened by the darkness beyond. He squirmed uncertainly, his habitual nervousness even more pronounced.

The upshot of his hesitancy was that Pace — instead of following Doc — went back upstairs and got the gun which Doc had taken from Gardner.

Then Pace eased from the room and through the darkened house with the automatic ready in his hand, a grim expression on his features.

- — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Some moments later in the murk beside one of the imitation slave houses which stood near the white mansion, a sinister meeting occurred. There was an elaborate garden about the slave cabins with tall flowering plants arrayed in neat rows. These formed an ideal concealment for furtive comings and goings.

2 silver men were just being joined by a third.

"UII?" one of the two whispered suspiciously, drawing a gun.

"Yes, it's me — UII!" hissed the newcomer.

"Did you see who was breaking them doors down?" asked the other, replacing his gun in its holster.

"It's Doc Savage," grated Ull.

"But I thought … "

"I know!" UII snarled. "He must have avoided that grenade at the flier's apartment. He is not dead!"

The first man swore quietly, briefly. "Then what are we going to do? If we hadn't shot that taxi driver when he tried to run … "

UII considered, a harridan figure in his all-enveloping disguise of silver which shimmered slightly in the moonlight. "Everything else has turned out all right," he said finally. "The safest thing for us to do is leave here. The rest of our party went on ahead, did they not?"

"They did," said the first.

UlI gave the fellow a shove. "Then get a move on! We will join them."

The 3 furtive figures had taken scarcely a step when they were brought up by a voice. It came from the slave hut window.

"You fools!" said this new speaker. "You are overlooking a chance."

Two of the silver men started violently and wrenched out weapons. Grabbing at their arms, Ull swore in an angry whisper.

"This is the Master!" he grated.

The other two obviously had never heard the voice before. But at UII's words, they seemed profoundly impressed.

"You mean … the Big Shot who is behind all this?" one stuttered.

UII ignored him and addressed the window behind which the unseen speaker lurked. "You say we are overlooking a chance? What is it? And what are you doing here?"

"An opportunity to get rid of Doc Savage," said the voice from the window murk. "And never mind what I am doing here!"

"But it is too risky to rush him," UII protested. "The man is a walking storehouse of scientific weapons. Twice as many men as I have could not overcome him!"

The tone of the concealed mastermind took on an edge. "You do not underrate an enemy, do you?"

"Not if I can help it," said UII. "And I have seen this fellow work. To rush him would be too dangerous!"

"I am going to throw you a package," said the voice inside the cabin . "Catch it!"

An instant later, a small packet sailed out into the moonlight. UlI cupped it successfully in a silver-gloved palm. The parcel seemed to be a bottle carefully wrapped, for it gurgled as it hit UII's hand.

"Come close under the window," the unseen Chief directed. "I want to give you explicit directions."

UII crept near, and their voices dropped so that even the two who waited nearby in the garden — the two who had been with UII — could not hear what was said.

These two kept eyes avidly on the window for they had never seen this mysterious Chief — this sinister one of great ingenuity who was their real Leader. Nor did they see him now. The fellow did not show himself.

- — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Inside the big white house, Doc Savage was pushing his search for some sign of Gardner or the silver men. Doc did not use undue haste for that — in the perilous career which he led — was synonymous with risking sudden death.

He heard sounds after a time. Someone moving. He waited. The prowler seemed to be coming from outdoors. The bronze man used his sensitive ears to their fullest, noting particularly the number of nervous moves which the skulker made. This identified the man.

"Pace," he said quietly.

Rapid Pace emitted a loud gasp and struck a match. He seemed relieved at sight of Doc.

"I have been looking for you," he gulped. "Yes sir, looking for you! I was outside."

"Where did you get the gun?" Doc questioned.

Pace glanced down at his weapon. "It is the one Gardner had. I got it. I had no cartridges, of course. But just holding the gun kind of makes me feel more … well, brave."

"Hear anything of Gardner?" Doc asked.

Pace denied this, and they continued their hunt in company. The efficiency expert seemed never to run out of conversation. He began whispering his personal opinion in the darkness until Doc reminded him that the noise would make an excellent target.

"I think Gardner is behind all this," Pace breathed and then fell silent.