THE OTHER WORLD - Vb-tech.co.za

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Chapter X
BLAST IN THE ARCTIC
ASTONISHMENT jerked Chris
Columbus into a rigid statue, Doc Savage
was equally surprised, having had no
suspicion that Two Wink and Fancife were
any nearer than St. Louis.
Chris said out of the side of his
mouth, “This is my fault for not talking.”
“What do you mean?”
“I knew they had made Tercio talk.”
Fancife said: “Either one of you
gentlemen can move if you want to! It will
give us an excuse.”
Doc did not stir. Chris had his lips
parted, his breath making slow steam in the
bitterly-cold arctic air.
Two Wink held a rifle on them, and
Fancife began searching their clothing. He
took object after object from Doc Savage’s
pockets, scowling at some of the gadgets
because he did not know what they were;
then he slapped the bronze man’s garments
and realized there was stuff all through his
clothing.
“Hell, we’ll have to take your
clothes,” he growled.
He went over to Two Wink and the
two of them consulted in a voice too low to
be overheard. Result of the palaver did not
seem agreeable to Two Wink, because he
was scowling, although Fancife wore a
widely grim grin when they came back.
“Two Wink is gonna stand lookout,”
Fancife advised them coldly, “while I make
you change clothes. I’ll take you in the plane
where it’s warm.”
He backed into the plane with the
rifle, menaced them with the weapon while
they also clambered inside.
“Look!” Chris barked.
He meant Decimo Tercio. The man
sat in one of the plane seats. There were
ropes around his ankles, more ropes about
his chest and the seat which he occupied,
holding him securely. It was cold in the plane,
and his breath was a series of angry spurts.
“How’d they get you, Tercio?” Chris
asked swiftly.
Tercio scowled at him, said nothing.
“I’m . . . a friend of Lanta,” Chris said.
That had no effect, either.
“He’s a little irritated,” Fancife said,
and chuckled. “You see, he underestimated
our brains, like you fellows did. He’s mad
about that.”
27
Tercio swore in some native tongue;
they did not have to understand it to
appreciate the violence of what he said.
“You see?” Fancife chuckled again.
“Never occurred to him that we would grab
the fastest plane we could get as soon as he
escaped from us. Grab a racing plane and
whirl right up here to Target Mountain and
wait for him to show up.”
Fancife walked over to Tercio and
gave his head a shove. “Forgot you told us
Target Mountain was one of the landmarks
you had to find on your way back, didn’t
you?”
Doc said: “You beat us all here with
a very fast plane, and when Tercio appeared,
you forced him down? Is that the way it
was?”
“With rifles.” Fancife nodded. He
moved his rifle menacingly. “We’re very good
with these things. If you don’t want to know
how good, get out of those clothes.”
Chris yelled, “We’ll freeze to death!”
“That’ll be swell,” Fancife told him.
“Hurry up and get out of those clothes.”
Both Doc and Chris Columbus
stripped to underwear shorts before Fancife
said, “That’ll do,” after glancing sidewise at
Two Wink, who had put his head in the plane
door to watch. “You see anybody, Two
Wink?”
“Nobody else in sight. Guess they
came alone.”
Doc Savage drew a breath of relief at
that. He had instructed Monk and Ham and
the others to fly a course at least fifteen miles
to the right of his own, and the precaution
was now proving fortunate.
Fancife planted himself in front of
Doc and Chris and made a grim-sounding
speech.
“We’re not going to kill you, like
some guys would,” he said.
HAVING paused for a few moments
so that they could get the dramatic effect of
his opening, Fancife continued. “Some guys
would bump you off, but not us. We’re just
trying to get along and be left alone. We’re
taking your clothes and putting you in your
plane. We’ve searched your plane to be sure
there are no more clothes in it. We’ve also
made sure the plane is heated.” He turned to
Two Wink. “It is heated, ain’t it?”
“That plane,” said Two Wink, “has
got everything.”