Part 21 (1/2)

The widest of grins suddenly overspread Monk's homely face. He turned to Doc. ”How'd you do it?”

”There's a sensitive microphone planted in the headquarters shack,” Doc explained. ”It is connected to my portable radiophone transmitter. There's a receiver and a loudspeaker hidden near the bunk house occupied by the giants, It's that loud-speaker. you're listening to now.”

”You concealed the apparatus last night!” Monk grunted.

”Right.”

In his delight Monk bounced up and down, ape fas.h.i.+on.

”I see it!” he howled. ”me girl didn't double-cross us She decoyed the master mind to his headquarters and got 'im to spill the truth!”

OUTSIDE THE pit things began to happen. The giants made hoa.r.s.e, violent sounds of rage. It had dawned on them that they were doomed to spend their natural lives as the monstrosities which they now were.

Hack backed from the pit rim with his machine gun. He must have decided to take sides with the giants.Possibly their nearness and their rage influenced this decision.

”The big shot has been lyin' to us,” he yelled. ”What're we gonna do about it?”

His answer was a thunder of gigantic footsteps as the monsters charged for the headquarters shack.

”Wait!” Hack yelled, and ran after them. ”My machine gun may come in handy.”

From other sections of the island howls of the giants arose. Although none of these unearthly sounds were words, their portent was clear. The giants had turned upon their master.

”Make a pyramid,” Doc directed.

His men whipped into movement. Renny took up a crouching position against the pit walls, and Monk sprang atop his shoulders, then the others mounted. As he had done the night before, Doc Savage clambered up this living pyramid to the pit rim and hauled himself outside.

The monster men were converging on the headquarters shack. Some of them had picked up boulders almost as large as washtubs to use as missiles, and these seemed as light as pebbles in their hands. One huge fellow wrenched the covering off a camouflaged shack and tore out a section of iron framework as if it were of thin lath construction. Waving this, he charged with the others.

From the headquarters a machine gun clattered.. The master of the giants was using it, and his slugs pommeled one of the oncoming monsters.

The big fellow shook under the impact, but kept coming. The vitality of the Gargantuan man-thing was astounding. Not until the slugs battered his head almost out of shape did he sink, sprawling.

Doc Savage glanced about. Near by lay the rope with which the girl had been hauled from the pit. The bronze man scooped this up and tossed the end down to his comp anions. They climbed in.

Within some thirty seconds all five stood at his side, Monk carrying the excited Habeas by a leg.

Chapter 26. PERE TESTON'S END.

DOC SAVAGE and his men made no move to join the fray. They merely looked on. In a fas.h.i.+on, this climax was reminiscent of others which they had witnessed Their policy was never to take human life directly, no matter how great the provocation, but their enemies had a surprisingly regular habit of coming to an untimely end as a result of their own machinations. And their foes were meeting such a fate now.

The master of the giants was a sly devil. He had evidently taken precautions against the possibility that his big fellows might turn upon him. He had plenty of weapons handy. Another giant collapsed before the withering storm of machine-gun lead.

Hack opened up with his rapid-firer. In doing so he made a fatal mistake, for he neglected to shelter himself suffi ciently.

Hack's late chief returned the fire. Hack suddenly dropped his machine gun. He stood very straight and stiff and turned slowly, while a crimson flood began seeping from his body, as if it were sieved with many holes. His final collapse was abrupt, and marked the complete departure of life.

”Let's get out of range,” Doc directed. ”Over to the end of the island will do.” They worked across the rocky surface of the isle, pausing frequently to watch the progress of the fight.

They saw that the steel-haired girl had escaped from the headquarters shack, and was retreating furtively.

Her course took her toward the same headland for which Doc and his men were making.

The master of the giants -- he was far from being their master now -- had not noticed her departure. He was too busy dealing with his erstwhile monster followers.

”Got your eye on the girl?” Doc demanded of his men. ”Sure,” Monk grunted. ”The way she's going, she'll join us at the end of the island.”

”Keep her with you,” Doc directed. Then the bronze man dropped back.

Monk also halted. He stared anxiously after Doc, then called. ”Hey, what Ham grasped the homely chemist's arm. ”You're holding up our stroll, you missing link. Come on.”.

They sprinted toward the farthermost end of the island.

DOUBLED LOW among the rocks, at times moving on all fours, Doc Savage made himself as inconspicuous as possible. He watched the giants closely, in order to avoid coming too near them.

Doc was making for the shack where he had found the strangely immobile prisoner -- the poor unfortunate who was under the effect of the drug.

The bronze man could now see the shack among the boulders. He circled warily, apparently oblivious to the fighting off to his right.

The monster man guarding the hut had not quitted his post. The big fellow was bouncing about in impatience and making rage sounds.

The giant paced away uncertainly, as if to join the fight. Coming to a pause, he lumbered around and glared at the hut. He gibbered more wrath.

It was obvious that the stupid fellow considered the helpless man inside responsible for the unpleasant things which had befallen him. Emitting a roar, the monster charged the shack. He crashed in the covering with his fist and began tearing the framework apart Doc Savage p;itched from cover. Swooping as he ran, he scooped up two flinty, elongated pebbles, each nearly the size of a man's fist. He held one of these in either hand; they were his only weapons.

The monster was on the point of forcing entry to the hut. Doc yelled. The man-monstrosity wheeled, attention attracted. He perceived that Doc was going to attack. He hurriedly scrambled out of the hole he had opened in the hut wall.

Doc did not pause in his rush. It seemed that he intended to come to grips with the huge fellow. The monster opened enormous hands, spread his arms to receive the bronze man.

Giant among ordinary men though Doc was, he seemed diminutive alongside his huge foe.

What occurred next surprised the monster. Doc folded down, almost against the ground. The monster's hands clutched empty air.

There came two loud cracking noises. The man-thing squawled in agony. With the stones gripped in his fists, Doc had struck each of the fellow's kneecaps a hard blow. The bronze man sprang clear. He dropped his rocks and shoveled up handfuls of the fine sand underfoot.

The man-giant had grasped his kneecaps and was walling like a small boy who had fallen down.

Doc rushed him again.

The monster straightened, bellowing, to meet him.

Doc flung his fine sand into the big one's eyes.

The gritty particles blinded the monster. It weaved In aimless circles, howling, swinging random blows that encountered nothing.

Doc Savage darted into the hut. He scopped up the drugged man who lay there and bore him out.