Лестер Дент - The Fantastic Island

They were back unexpectedly soon, running. And they had Habeas Corpus!

"We found the other brother — the Count, the one who was alive!" Monk yelled. "What do you think happened to him?"

No one made a guess.

"Those wild hogs," Ham said grimly. "They had finished with him by the time we got there!"

- — — — — — — — — — — — —

Monk's pet Habeas Corpus — never a sartorially inclined porker at the best — now looked very bedraggled. That he had spent a hectic time on the Fantastic Island was evident. He took every opportunity to lie down. He had been thin before. As thin as it had seemed possible for a porcine specimen to get. But now he was even thinner.

Renny jumped suddenly, squawled, and grabbed his side. He looked somewhat foolish and examined a small spot which rapidly grew livid.

"What did that?"he roared.

Monk made a quick movement with his wrist. Something thudded against Renny's ribs again.

"Hey!" Renny said, startled. "What is that thing?"

Monk glanced at Doc Savage. "Had you decided what that darn thing was, Doc?"

The bronze man nodded. "The brothers must have spent much time practicing to acquire such proficiency."

"Yeah, they sure must of," Monk agreed.

"Holy cow!" Renny grunted, examining the object which Monk held. "It's that big emeraldring the count wore! It's tied to a tiny thread. But you can't hardly see it."

"And the thread is stronger than blazes," Monk told him. "You see, this is the thumb-hole death ."

"But it seemed so mysterious," Pat said. "So sinister ."

"It was both," Doc Savage interpolated. "If you recall, the thumb-hole death struck only when the light was not strong enough to reveal the almost colorless cord. They threw the ring with great force. Both brothers were well muscled, you will recall. They must have practiced a great deal. Then they jerked the ring back with the cord."

"We found it on the Count," Monk announced. "The wild hogs … well, they left it."

- — — — — — — — — — — — —

They fell silent after that, watching the scene before them. The rumble and roarof it. The leap and flash of gory light. The rumble of descending boulders. It was a fabulous spectacle.

Still — watching the volcano — they knew they were free to depart in the plane at any time and ferry the late prisoners of the brothers Ramadanoff to other and larger islands in the Galapagos, where sailors could call for them. As they later did.

Monk was exhibiting the honeycombed, jeweled breastplate.

"Not much, compared to what we probably left behind," he said. "But my guess is it'll sell for a million, anyway. Divided up among the prisoners we rescued, that oughta help a little."

If Ham heard that, he showed no interest. Ham had plenty of money, anyway. He was eying Habeas Corpus.

Ham suddenly emitted several loud grunts. He shuffled his feet noisily.

"Wild hogs!" he yelled.

Habeas Corpus never looked back. He hit the water swimming and made for the safety of the plane.

"Boy oh boy!" Ham grinned. "For years, I have been trying to find a way to make that hog keep out of my sight!"

- — — — — — — — — — — — —

A blizzard in July and a woman's image is frozen in glass — how could these bizarre events possibly be connected?

To find the answer and save the life of Ranyon Cartheris, the Man of Bronze and his dauntless allies journey to hot desert sands halfway round the World where they are trapped — perhaps never to emerge — in the ancient underground tombs of Tasunan.

read "Murder Mirage (#35)"