Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs by Max McCoy Read Free Book Online Page A

and I could use a bit of relaxation. I hate to miss an opportunity to explore a new city."
    "There is plenty to sightsee," Wu Han said. "May I call for you this evening? Perhaps Dr. Jones would like to come as well. I understand from Mr. Granger that he is quite a fan of hot American jazz."
    "Jazz?" Indy said. "Well, perhaps."
    "Good," Wu Han said. "You may expect me at about six o'clock, if that is convenient. Mr. Granger, sir, is everything in order? May I be excused?"
    "Yes, of course," Granger said, glancing over the manifests that Wu Han had brought. "Thank you."
    Wu Han bowed.
    "Trap you later," he said.
    "Catch," Granger barked. "The phrase is 'catch you later.'"
    "Of course," Wu Han said.
    "Ah," Granger said. "Most of the equipment has been loaded onto the flatcars, with the exception of a special shipment that I had requested from our friends at the British arsenal. We are scheduled to leave at oh-five-hundred, and Brody's instructions made it clear that time is of the essence. No matter how good the jazz is, Indy, I suggest that you get some sleep tonight."
    "Sleep." Indy sighed.
    "Jones." Granger leaned conspiratorially toward Indy. "Brody's cable made it clear that this expedition's primary objective is to locate Professor Starbuck. But some of the equipment he has required does not seem to be useful, even tangentially. What do we need with several quarts of animal tranquilizer? I was prudent enough not to wire him back and ask what was going on, but now that I'm sitting across from you, I feel the time is right. Jones, what in hell is going on?"
    "All I can tell you now," Indy said, "is that Brody is right when he says our mission is to locate Professor Starbuck. You're no fool, Granger. But don't ask me anything else until we are safely inside Mongolia."
    "Funny pairing of words, that," Granger said.
    "What?" Joan asked.
    "Safe," he said, "and Mongolia."
    Indy traced his finger along the path from Shanghai to Mongolia. Then he spread his hand, bridging the gap from Peking to the Shen Shei Mountains with his thumb and little finger.
    "I would have preferred to launch this expedition from Peking," Indy said. "Now, there's a city I like. Clean, beautiful; friendly people. And it's closer to where we're going."
    "That would bring us too close to the Japs for comfort," Granger said. "Since they've taken Manchuria—Manchuku, they call it—nothing in the north is safe."
    "I'd prefer it if you would call them Japanese," Joan requested.
    "Why?" Granger asked. "They call us worse. They have a name for us that means 'big feet and smells like hamburger.' They think even less of the Chinese and Koreans."
    "If we are to expect the best from others, we should demand the best from ourselves," Joan asserted. "Besides, I'm sure that not all the Japanese feel that way."
    "I'm sure you have a point, Sister," Granger said. "But I'm glad I won't have to put up with it all the way to the Gobi and back."
    "What do you mean?" Joan asked, stiffening.
    "You're staying here," Indy said.
    "Why, that makes no sense at all," Joan protested. "Neither of you knows my father. You don't even have a recent photograph for reference. What if you overlook some important clue?"
    "I'm sorry," Indy said, "but the Gobi is no place for a woman. There are things out there that you can't even begin to imagine."
    "How do you know what I can begin to imagine?"
    "Well," Indy said. "I just—"
    "Look here," Granger interrupted. "Do you know what would happen if one of the local warlords got their hands on you? You'd be sold into white slavery quicker than you could say your Hail Mary, and there would be nothing we could do about it."
    "You're not going to scare me into being a good little nun," Joan fumed. "The Catholic Church has been trying to do that for years and it hasn't worked, so why should you two hooligans think you can do it?"
    Granger coughed and looked away.
    "That must be some order you belong to," Indy said.
    "Stop making jokes," Joan said,