Doc Savage: The Ice Genius (The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage Book 12) by Kenneth Robeson, Lester Dent, Will Murray Read Free Book Online

expedition, and not turn back without good reason.
    The fact that the former Cadwiller Olden had managed to stow away this far was more than alarming. Countering that was their reasonable expectation that their old foe had been rendered harmless. But the collective memories of his murderous former life were not greatly diminished.
    The sight of the reformed master criminal in Doc Savage’s holy of holies was distressing in the extreme.
    Despite all that, there was a strong, unanimous feeling that they needed to get on with the expedition to Mongolia.
    Doc Savage was not persuaded. He was a man of extreme caution. He left little to chance. That they were flying into danger, there was no doubt. The additional risk of this new passenger greatly added to that danger, even if the calculation was inexact.
    Doc Savage decided to check in with Johnny Littlejohn by radio before taking off. It was his hope that his men would settle down and see the wisdom of his decision.
    Returning to the radio room in one corner of the lab, Doc Savage warmed up the old set and attempted to raise the archeologist.
    “Doc Savage to Johnny Littlejohn. Come in, Johnny.”
    But the big-worded geologist did not respond.
    Doc Savage decided to give the matter another hour to settle.
    During that interval, the bronze man let his men talk themselves through the situation. He did not attempt to persuade them, but simply allowed them to work out their concerns.
    The strategy appeared to be bearing fruit. After some forty minutes, Renny began to argue for a swift return in order to avoid dangerous complications.
    Most of them agreed with this. Monk was for getting on with it. Ham predictably took the opposite view, but impatient Long Tom also wanted to get going in the direction of Mongolia.
    What finally decided the matter was Johnny Littlejohn’s voice crackling from the radio excitedly.
    “Johnny to Doc! Johnny to Doc! Come in, Doc Savage .”
    The bronze man seized the microphone. “Doc here.”
    “Doc! Trouble is brewing! I don’t know if I can hold out much longer.”
    Doc’s voice leapt out, “Hold out from what?”
    Johnny Littlejohn began to reply, then his words got mixed up, and the deafening racket of his supermachine pistol came over the ether to fill the cavernous laboratory of the Fortress of Solitude.
    After that, Johnny’s voice was heard no more. There followed a great deal of background noise, assorted commotion, and then a species of unpleasant silence.
    Doc Savage turned to his men, his voice edged with a metallic bite. “We have no choice in the matter now. We must press on as quickly as possible.”
    At one quadrant of the lab, the former Cadwiller Olden grew frightened when he heard these words. He clapped his small hands together like a small boy. It was such a childish display that it actually allayed much of their fears.
    No one noticed the cunning gleam that came into the tiny eyes of the mischievous midget.

Chapter V
    THE LONG FLIGHT
    FLYING ACROSS THE Arctic region, although it has been accomplished many times over recent years, remains an unusual and perilous enterprise.
    Doc Savage relied on the big airplane’s robot pilot to guide them for much of the way over the great barren wasteland of ice and snow. Despite the presence of their diminutive stowaway, the boredom of the long hours of monotonous flying fast became tedious. The depressingly endless Arctic twilight did not help their mood, either.
    The cabin interior was electrically warmed, so they had a great deal of comfort despite the inhospitable environment through which they hammered. Too, the silencers Doc Savage had installed in the four great motors kept the cabin relatively quiet, otherwise the relentless racket of the great engines would eventually have driven them to distraction.
    They did not expect to encounter any military aircraft above the Arctic Circle, and they were not surprised by the fact that they remained unchallenged for much of the journey.