Part 11 (1/2)
”It was stolen a month ago from a commercial air transport company in southern Michigan,” Doc replied.
”A checkup revealed that.”
”Another crime to be charged against Caldwell, or Pere Teston, or whoever is behind this,” Johnny said thoughtfully.
Complete darkness arrived. This night, like the previous one in New York, was cloudy.
”Kinda feels like a storm,” Monk remarked. The homely chemist was engaged in playfully upsetting Habeas Corpus with a toe. The pig seemed to like this.
While they were cooking supper, cottontail rabbits occasionally ventured into the zone of firelight, only to flee as some one moved or spoke. Owls hooted mournfully. Insects clattered high notes, and bullfrogs whooped in ba.s.s.
It was a peaceful scene. They settled for the night in pneumatic sleeping bags. All were tired; they soon dropped off to sleep.
Chapter 15. NIGHT TERROR.
THUNDER WAS chuckling softly in the distance when Monk awakened, Doc's hand upon his shoulder.
There was no lightning. Monk squirmed, peered into the inky void, and gulped. ”Hey, what the -- ”
”Quiet!” Doc cautioned. ”I think something's going to happen.', Monk bounced out of his bag, much to the disgust of Habeas, who had been asleep on the foot.
The pig grunted a few times in discontent, then with strange abruptness it became silent.
Monk fished out a match and thumbed it alight. He hid the tiny flame in his cupped palm, so that only a spear of light escaped and fell upon the pig.
Habeas was sniffing like a pointer. Coa.r.s.e bristles along his back were on end. Monk listened, and could hear nothing. But the pig had detected the presence of something.
”Habeas has remarkably keen senses,” Doc said softly. ”The nearest of the things must be at least a mile away from us.”
”What things?”
”Just a minute,” Doc said, ”I'll let you listen.” The bronze giant went to the other men and awakened them.
All moved to one side, a few yards clear of the camp.
A strange-looking bit of apparatus stood here. Doc had evidently erected this after the others had gone to sleep. Long Tom, the electrical wizard, recognized it instantly.
”A supersensitive listening device!” he said.
The electrical expert did not trouble to explain further that the thing utilized sensitive parabolic pickup microphones and 'amplifiers of great power, similar to those employed in radio sets. He presumed that the others knew this.
Doc Savage flicked a switch which connected the loudspeaker to the amplifier output. The sensitivity of the listening device was at once apparent. An owl hooted in the distance, and the sound poured out of the loud-speaker in a great bawl. Habeas Corpus grunted. That, too, was magnified a thousand fold.
Suddenly there came from the loud-speaker noises foreign to the other night sounds. These were watery notes, a great splas.h.i.+ng and gurgling. Then came tremendous hissing noises, as of a monster breath expelled.
Doc switched off the listener.
”Huh?” Monk gulped. ”That sounds like something wading along the edge of the lake.”
”There's another of the things in the opposite direction,” Doc advised. ”As far as I can tell, there are only the two of them. They're approaching slowly.”
After a brief interval, the bronze man switched on the listening device again. This time, the splas.h.i.+ng sounds were louder, and it was evident that they came from both up and down the lake sh.o.r.e.
”Do you reckon they're huntin' us?” Monk asked uneasily. ”We'll wait,” Doc said. ”We won't use this listening device any more, either. The things may hear the amplified sounds.”
The men waited, listening so hard that they could almost hear the gurgle of blood in their own veins.
NO LISTENING device was needed now. The noisy wading was becoming louder as the fantastic waders of the night approached.
”I hope they meet each other and fight it out,” Long Tom said uneasily. ”They sound as big as elephants.” This proved a futile hope. The gigantic things prowling along the lake sh.o.r.e apparently met. One of them emitted sound, a roar which terminated in a hacking and sputtering.
”For the love of Mike!” Monk breathed. ”First time I ever heard a sound like that.”
There came a loud clank. It was like a tin can being kicked, only infinitely louder. It was followed by another. Metal crumpled noisily; rivets shrieked; brace wires parted with loud dongings.
”Our plane!” Monk growled. ”They're tearing it up!”
He started forward.
”Wait!” Doc admonished sharply. ”Those things may be dangerous.”
A tremendous splas.h.i.+ng was accompanying the ruining of the plane. This came nearer, as if the monsters were pus.h.i.+ng the plane to the beach.
”Ain't we gonna do something about this?” Long Tom asked indignantly.
”I planted a camera in the treetops, upon first hearing them,” Doc explained. ”The things are almost in position now to have their pictures taken.”
From the ground beside the electrical listening device Doc picked a metallic-looking object, slightly smaller than a baseball. He threw this in the direction of the beach.
The thing detonated with a flash that stabbed at their eyeb.a.l.l.s like hot flame. It was powerful flashlight powder which would expose the plate of the camera. He had been able to plant the camera with shutter open, thanks to the murk of the night.
At the flash, both monsters came cras.h.i.+ng through underbrush and timber toward the camp.
”They must have located our place by the camp fire earlier in the night,” Ham breathed grimly.
”Scatter!” Doc ordered. ”These things show signs of in telligence. They're dangerous.”
Stealthily, the men parted..
Doc Savage remained where he was, except that he moved a few feet to one side, stooped, and opened a bag. This was part of their equiprnent, all of which they had fortunately removed from the plane.
Out of the bag Doc took two metallic containers, each of perhaps a quart capacity. Balancing one of these in either hand, he waited. They were great tear-gas bombs.
He delayed throwing until convinced one of the monsters was within fifty feet. Then he hurled both gas bombs. They landed, bursting with loud whups.