FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145  
146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   >>   >|  
f dozen of the pods, and threw them through the open doorway with a savage gesture. "You trying to put one over on me?" he bellowed. "How can I?" Van retorted mildly. "I haven't touched a handwheel." He was wondering vaguely whether this lunar seed would grow in earthly soil; what sort of a plant it would produce under the new environment. Kelly was becoming nervous now. It seemed that little was to be gained by hanging around this crazy man's laboratory. He had a sizable fortune in rough stones already. That big one alone, when properly cut into smaller stones, would make him independent. Maybe there weren't any more, anyway. And the longer he stayed the greater chance there was of getting caught. The advent of another of the pods decided him. A quick blow with the butt of his pistol stretched Van on the floor and Kelly fled the scene. * * * * * Bart was pounding furiously on the cellar door when Van first took hazy note of his surroundings. Several uncertain minutes passed before he was able to stagger across the room and release his friend. "Where is he?" Bart demanded, swaying on his feet and blinking in the sudden light. "Gone. Socked me and beat it with the diamonds." Van was mopping the blood from his eyes with a handkerchief. "Are you hit bad?" he inquired. "No, just a flesh wound. Hurts like the devil, though. How about yourself?" Bart limped to his side and sighed with relief when he examined his bleeding scalp. "Not so bad yourself, old man. Where's your first aid kit?" Van was still somewhat dazed and merely pointed to the cabinet. "Fine pair we turned out to be!" he grumbled after his head had cleared a bit under Bart's vigorous cleansing of the cut on his temple. "Here we stood, meek as a couple of lambs, and let that guy get away with murder." "Yeah, but those forty-fives made the difference. Ouch!" Bart winced as his friend poured fresh iodine over the wound in his leg. "Have a heart, will you?" They were startled into silence by a hoarse, strangled scream that came from outside the laboratory. "Help! Help!" someone repeated in a panicky voice--a voice which at once ended on a gurgled note of despair. "It's Kelly!" Bart whispered. "He's come back. Something's happened to him." He started for the open door. "Wait a minute. It may be a trick to get us outside where he can pop us off." "No, it isn't. For God's sake, look!" Bart had reached th
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145  
146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
friend
 

laboratory

 

stones

 

cleansing

 

couple

 
temple
 
grumbled
 

turned

 
vigorous
 

cleared


limped

 

sighed

 
relief
 

bleeding

 
examined
 

pointed

 
cabinet
 
Something
 

happened

 

started


whispered

 

despair

 

gurgled

 

minute

 

reached

 

panicky

 

repeated

 

difference

 

poured

 

winced


murder

 
iodine
 

strangled

 

hoarse

 

scream

 
silence
 

startled

 
gained
 

hanging

 
produce

environment
 

nervous

 
sizable
 
fortune
 

independent

 

smaller

 
properly
 

gesture

 
bellowed
 

savage