KING JOE CAY.pdf

38
More bullets came from the speedboat.
Some of these made small, ragged holes in
the bone-hard, wind-filled sails.
Doc took the wheel, relieving Trudy
Stevens.
He asked, ìWant to make a last-minute
confession? Tell me what is behind this?î
ìI would if I knew,î she said. She
seemed hurt that he didnít believe her.
ìHow did you get into it?î
ìWhy, Charlotte sent me to New York. I
was to go to her bank vault, gain access to
her safety deposit box with the authorization
she gave me, pretend to get something from
the box. Then I was to become very furtive,
go to Chicago, then Kansas City, then Miami,
and back to Charlotteís island, King Joe Cay,
on this boat.î
ìWhat do you think was the idea of all
that?î he demanded.
ìI think I was a herring.î
ìRed herring,î he corrected.
ìAll right, red herring across the trail. I
think I was tossed in to confuse Tom Ittle and
Brigham Pope.î
He asked, ìAnd bait for me, maybe?î
ìHow do you mean?î
ìI wish I knew,î he said. ìCharlotte is
capable of some cute ones, so no telling.î
She went below, came back at once.
She had the shotgun. ìYouíll need a
weapon,î she said.
ìWeíll all need the hand of God.î He
looked up at Joseph, whose face showed his
awful agony. ìJoseph most of all.î
A queer combination of wave timingó
they in the hollow when the speedboat was
on a crestókept them from seeing the enemy
until he was startlingly close. There
were men on deck, armed.
Doc fired the shotgun. Twice. ìThatíll
chase them inside, anyway,î he said.
ìHard port!î Joseph bellowed. ìHard
port, dammit!î
Doc put the wheel over. He didnít see
the coral head until a geyser of water shot up
almost alongside when a wave broke on it.
ìYou take the shotgun,î Doc said.
He was going to be busy with the
wheel.
THE speedboat came boiling up. It was
twice as fast as they were. And almost as
long, too. A man bawled at them around the
DOC SAVAGE
windshield. ìHeave to!î he roared. ìHeave to,
or weíll ram you!î
He was no one Doc had ever seen or
heard. But a gasp from Trudy Stevens advised
him she knew the man.
ìStraight as she lies!î Joseph
screamed. ìStand by for hard to starboard!î
A man on the speedboat cursed. They
could hear him. He leaned out and took a
deliberate aim at Joseph. The .22 went ping!
and the man fell over backward foolishly, still
holding his arm in aiming position.
Doc said, ìYou shoot them in the head
like that, you can kill them even with a .22.î
Sound from the girl got his attention.
Her face was sickly. She hadnít intended to
kill the man. A moment later she caved down
in the cockpit.
ìStarboard!î Joseph bellowed.
The ketch heeled over, the rail went
under. There was no time to trim sail for each
course change. Water squirted out of the wet
sheet lines as they went under frightful tension.
But they held.
ìHold her!î yelled Joseph. ìStraight as
she goes.î
The speedboat was going to ram them.
A bone of ugly foam in her teeth, she
charged down on them. Doc roared up at
Joseph, ìClear to port?î
ìTwenty feet,î Joseph yelled. ìThen
crowd ëem to starboard.î He pointed.
Doc knew what he was trying to do.
Trying to crowd the express cruiser into
ramming a coral head.
Doc watched the speedboat charge at
them. A sailboat, because she had the pivoting
effect of her sails, could outmaneuver the
express cruiser on short turns. He could
dodge them the first time. But once only,
probably.
The bow of the express boat was almost
on them when he spun the wheel madly.
The ketch spun like the dancer she was. The
express boat was so close Doc heard the
startled curse of the oarsman. Up on the
ketch mast, Joseph pointed his old gun
downward, and a yard of fire and smoke
came out of the muzzle. What he hit, no one
ever knew.
The express cruiser helmsman saw he
couldnít ram. Then they saw the coral ahead
off the bow. There was yelling.
Doc could see the coral head himself.
And he saw the speedboat was going to