Doc Savage: Glare of the Gorgon (The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage Book 19) by Kenneth Robeson, Lester Dent, Will Murray
Tags: action and adventure
Ads: Link
it.”
Ham stepped up, and laid a well-manicured finger against the greenish-yellow outline, rubbed vigorously, and examined the tip of the same finger. It came away clean.
“It is not a residue, that is plain to see,” he suggested.
“That’s what I just said,” retorted Monk.
Doc Savage paid no attention to this exchange, but had resumed speaking to the inspector in charge.
“Where is the body of the barber?”
“Where else?” grunted Hardboiled Humbolt. “City morgue. Want to take a gander at him?”
“At once,” said Doc.
Looking baffled, Monk wondered, “What should I do with this? Rip out a hunk of the plaster?”
“Not necessary at this time,” said Doc. “We will return if need be.”
Taking their departure, they followed Inspector Humbolt to the city morgue and were soon standing around a body in an autopsy room. Chemical smell was not pleasant, but they had all visited morgues before. So they were used to it.
The Medical Examiner was saying to Doc Savage, “I’ve just begun to examine this man, and have as yet to make any determination.”
Doc Savage volunteered no information but said, “I would simply like to observe you.”
Shrugging, the M.E. resumed his autopsy.
He opened up the chest with a bone saw, used a stainless steel device to crack apart the chest cavity, exposing the internal organs.
After he did so, the medical man began to recite his observations. “Heart seems sound, major organs appear to be undiseased.”
Ham Brooks decided he did not need to pay close attention to this grisly operation, and tried to pick a fight with Monk Mayfair.
“It is a relief not to have to watch where I step,” the elegant attorney remarked. “Traveling with a wild pig distresses me no end.” Casting an accusatory eye in Monk’s direction, he added, “If only Doc would consent to leave you behind, I would be ecstatic.”
The hairy chemist was not having any. He was fascinated by the exposed organs of the deceased barber.
Ham fell to examining his nails, especially the tip of the finger that had lifted up no residue. He found nothing of interest there.
“The lungs appear to be unremarkable,” the M.E. was saying. “On superficial examination, I see no indication of a heart attack, which might lead to the possibility that this man suffered a stroke.”
“You will need to lay bare the brain,” suggested Doc Savage.
Agreeing with that determination, the Medical Examiner picked up a circular saw that was operated by electricity. With practiced skill, he commenced sawing all the way around the crown of the man’s head. Bits of bone grit flew.
When this was done, the top of the skull became removable. The medico lifted this free, set down the scalp, then trained a goose-necked lamp on the exposed brain.
Doc Savage stepped closer, the golden flakes in his uncanny eyes growing animated.
The human brain is normally a grayish color, and often pink in spots. The dead man’s brain was neither.
The hideously wrinkled organ looked for all the world like a large specimen of coral. It was pale white. It possessed the outward semblance of polished marble. Though it had the approximate shape of a human brain, its hue and outward appearance were not at all what the Medical Examiner was accustomed to encountering when he opened up a dead man’s skull.
The medico gasped. “What on earth?”
Doc Savage’s indescribable trilling filled the room. It seemed to wander about in such a fashion that it was impossible to tell whence it emanated.
So stunned was the Medical Examiner by what he had uncovered that he completely failed to take notice of the unnatural sound.
Doc Savage seldom realized that he was making the trillation, for it was entirely unconscious. But he noticed now. Sealing his lips, he stifled the vocal emanation, which had come unbidden.
“With your permission,” he said. Taking up a scalpel, Doc Savage applied the sharp point to the ridges of the exposed brain.
The
Ham stepped up, and laid a well-manicured finger against the greenish-yellow outline, rubbed vigorously, and examined the tip of the same finger. It came away clean.
“It is not a residue, that is plain to see,” he suggested.
“That’s what I just said,” retorted Monk.
Doc Savage paid no attention to this exchange, but had resumed speaking to the inspector in charge.
“Where is the body of the barber?”
“Where else?” grunted Hardboiled Humbolt. “City morgue. Want to take a gander at him?”
“At once,” said Doc.
Looking baffled, Monk wondered, “What should I do with this? Rip out a hunk of the plaster?”
“Not necessary at this time,” said Doc. “We will return if need be.”
Taking their departure, they followed Inspector Humbolt to the city morgue and were soon standing around a body in an autopsy room. Chemical smell was not pleasant, but they had all visited morgues before. So they were used to it.
The Medical Examiner was saying to Doc Savage, “I’ve just begun to examine this man, and have as yet to make any determination.”
Doc Savage volunteered no information but said, “I would simply like to observe you.”
Shrugging, the M.E. resumed his autopsy.
He opened up the chest with a bone saw, used a stainless steel device to crack apart the chest cavity, exposing the internal organs.
After he did so, the medical man began to recite his observations. “Heart seems sound, major organs appear to be undiseased.”
Ham Brooks decided he did not need to pay close attention to this grisly operation, and tried to pick a fight with Monk Mayfair.
“It is a relief not to have to watch where I step,” the elegant attorney remarked. “Traveling with a wild pig distresses me no end.” Casting an accusatory eye in Monk’s direction, he added, “If only Doc would consent to leave you behind, I would be ecstatic.”
The hairy chemist was not having any. He was fascinated by the exposed organs of the deceased barber.
Ham fell to examining his nails, especially the tip of the finger that had lifted up no residue. He found nothing of interest there.
“The lungs appear to be unremarkable,” the M.E. was saying. “On superficial examination, I see no indication of a heart attack, which might lead to the possibility that this man suffered a stroke.”
“You will need to lay bare the brain,” suggested Doc Savage.
Agreeing with that determination, the Medical Examiner picked up a circular saw that was operated by electricity. With practiced skill, he commenced sawing all the way around the crown of the man’s head. Bits of bone grit flew.
When this was done, the top of the skull became removable. The medico lifted this free, set down the scalp, then trained a goose-necked lamp on the exposed brain.
Doc Savage stepped closer, the golden flakes in his uncanny eyes growing animated.
The human brain is normally a grayish color, and often pink in spots. The dead man’s brain was neither.
The hideously wrinkled organ looked for all the world like a large specimen of coral. It was pale white. It possessed the outward semblance of polished marble. Though it had the approximate shape of a human brain, its hue and outward appearance were not at all what the Medical Examiner was accustomed to encountering when he opened up a dead man’s skull.
The medico gasped. “What on earth?”
Doc Savage’s indescribable trilling filled the room. It seemed to wander about in such a fashion that it was impossible to tell whence it emanated.
So stunned was the Medical Examiner by what he had uncovered that he completely failed to take notice of the unnatural sound.
Doc Savage seldom realized that he was making the trillation, for it was entirely unconscious. But he noticed now. Sealing his lips, he stifled the vocal emanation, which had come unbidden.
“With your permission,” he said. Taking up a scalpel, Doc Savage applied the sharp point to the ridges of the exposed brain.
The
Similar Books
