KING JOE CAY.pdf

8
He hoped. Tom Ittle wouldnít notice
that he was taking care to stand with his back
to one of the compartment walls. So that
Brigham Pope was not behind him.
Tom Ittle picked up the crossword puzzle.
He gazed at it, wrote in a word, pursed
his Brobdignagian lips. He lifted his eyes
from the puzzle, sat looking at nothing in a
fixed sort of a way. His eyes were large,
brown, calf-like.
ìClark,î Tom Ittle said.
ìYes?î
ìShe knows us.î
ìNot me, she doesnít.î
ìThatís what I mean,î Tom Ittle said.
ìShe knows me and she knows Brigham
Pope here, but she does not know you.î
ìI thought you said she didnít know she
was being followed.î
ìIím not making myself exactly clear,î
Tom Ittle explained. ìWeíve been following
her. She may have noticed us. She wouldnít
have noticed you. In other words, you stand
the best chance.î
ìBest chance for what?î
ìPick her up.î
ìEh?î
ìGet acquainted with her, start following
her around, make love to her,î Tom Ittle
grinned. ìThat shouldnít be tough.î
ìItíll be tough for me.î
Tom Ittle laughed. ìYouíre kidding.î
ìOkay. Iím kidding then.î
ìYouíll do it?î
ìIf you say so.î
ìGood.î
He supposed this was all of it. He had
the girlís purse now, and the stuff back in it.
He put the purse under his coat, shoved it
down inside his belt, and laid his hand on the
door.
ìWait,î Ittle said.
The fat manís face had become cold,
ugly, full of ferocity and hate. He was silent,
as if turning violence over and over in his
mind.
Finally Tom Ittle said, ìDid you ever
hear of a man named Doc Savage?î
He didnít answer immediately. He wet
his lips, took his hand off the door, turned
and put his back to the door. He had one
thought: How could they kill him here? Now.
There were lots of ways they could try it. But
he didnít believe they could make any of the
ways work. There was just the three of them
in the compartment, and space was close.
DOC SAVAGE
He believed he could keep them from killing
him.
He asked: ìWhat about Savage?î
Tom Ittle slapped his hand down on the
book of crossword puzzles. It made a report.
It startled them all, even startled Tom Ittle.
ìSo youíve heard of him!î Ittle said.
ìIs that so unusual?î
He was pleased with the cold placidity
in his voice.
ìI guess it ainít unusual.î Tom Ittle
made a conscious effort to speak properly,
but it did not come naturally to him, nor did
he do a very good job. ìNo, I guess it ainít
unusual.î Ittle eyed him intently. ìDonít it
scare you?î
ìShould it scare me?î
ìWhat would you say,î asked Tom Ittle,
ìif I told you we think Doc Savage may be
sticking his nose into this?î
ìIs he?î
ìWe think so.î Tom Ittle nodded slowly.
He turned the puzzle book in his hands. He
asked, ìWhat are you going to do about it,
Clark?î
ìDo?î
ìYeah.î
ìIím going to be about ten times as
careful as a man walking on eggs,î he said.
ìYou going to quit?î
He pretended to consider this, to give it
deep thought. Having done that, he shook his
head. ìNot right now,î he said. ìIím not
scared.î
Tom Ittle was pleased. ìNeither am I, I
donít mind telling you.î Ittle grinned at him. ìI
donít mind telling you I think youíre a sensible
man, Clark. A mighty sensible man. In my
book, that means a lot.î
ìIím no God Almighty,î he said.
Nodding, Tom Ittle said, ìMost of us
stop being that when we get to be about
twenty-five years old.î He chuckled, added, ìI
hope you can do all right with this babe,
though.î
ìIíll try.î
ìYou do that.î Ittle opened the puzzle
book. He took a pencil out of a vest pocket
where there were at least ten other pencils.
ìYou do that, and you tell us what you learn
about her.î
ìOkay.î
Tom Ittle suddenly laughed. ìIt would
be nice if you could interest her in you becoming
her protector.î
ìThat might be an idea.î