Chapter X

She hesitated over this.

Then she said desperately, “Listen, THE thunder whacked and gobbled in Henry, I’ve got something awfully important the west as I entered the building which con-to tell.”

tained my lab. Violent, like a noisy gathering “Go right ahead.”

of giants, the storm sounds none the less “No. I—I’d better say this personally.”

lacked the hot intensity they would probably My mind worked swiftly. “Well, Lila, attain before it began to rain. It was surely suppose you come to my laboratory. You going to storm. And the cacaphony in the sky know where it is. I’ll meet you there.”

fitted my own mood and expectations. A “But I’d rather come to Savage’s thunderstorm is always a great show, and I place.”

too was going to make a show.

THE MONKEY SUIT

33

There was no trouble about entering TAKEN aback, I hesitated. What could my lab at this later hour. I do this habitually, she mean? I didn’t understand it at all.

not only because I work late, but because I She added, “Henry, you remember I live there. I had fitted up a small sleeping said that my mother and father were es-room and kitchenette for quarters—and not, tranged, and that I lived with my mother? And as I had overheard someone intimate, be-then, after my mother’s death, my father kept cause I am as tight with money as the skin me in schools in California and elsewhere—on an apple. It was more convenient. Of up until a few months ago?”

course it was economical also.

“Obviously he wanted you to have a Miss Farrar did not appear at once.

fine education—”

There was time for me to ponder the Mayfair Lila gripped her handkerchief tightly.

fellow’s remark about chameleons. He had “I hardly knew my father!” she ex-said I was colorful, which might be a compli-claimed wildly.

ment—from anyone but Mayfair. A chame-I could see that she was genuinely in leon is a small lizard to which is attributed a need of comfort. “My dear,” I said—it took facility for changing is coloration, incidentally, courage to say my dear, and it didn’t come and thus was the nubbin at which most of my out very firmly—”your father is a fine man thoughts nibbled. The remark had its confus-with your interests at heart. Mr. Savage and I ing aspects.

went back to talk to him earlier tonight, after Fingertips, like

bird-feet

racing,

you had gone to a hotel, and he expressed sounded on the door. It was Lila Farrar.

the greatest love and concern for you.”

“Henry!” she cried. “Oh, Henry, can’t Lila looked at me thoughtfully. “He is you get hold of Doc Savage somehow?”

my father,” she said.

Her obvious state of mind was both “Yes indeed.”

surprising and distressing. She was upset.

“And parental ties are very strong, I Extremely. I longed to comfort her in a closer suppose.”

manner than with words, but didn’t quite “None are stronger,” I agreed. “And dare.

rightly so, for none should be stronger. The “What has happened?” I asked anx-parent fights its fiercest for its young, even in iously.

the animal kingdom.”

“Can’t you get Savage?”

This seemed to touch Lila deeply, for “I’m afraid not. What has occurred?”

she nodded. She said thoughtfully, “It doesn’t She dropped in a chair. She was near follow that the young always fight as strongly tears. “Father and I had an awful row,” she for their parents, but they should, shouldn’t blurted.

they?”

“Really?” I said. “Your father—you “Oh, indeed!”

quarreled with him? I’m—er—a little sur-

“That’s really the right way, isn’t it?”

prised at that.”

“Of course,” I said. “It certainly is.” I Lila was opening her purse with trem-didn’t know exactly—in fact I had no idea—bling fingers. She took out a handkerchief.

what we were talking about. But this was She looked over the handkerchief at me, and sound philosophical wisdom, and one is al-said, hesitantly, “You’re—surprised?”

ways safe in mouthing philosophical clichés. I “Well, yes.”

liked the way I sounded, too; weighty and “Why?”

solemn, the fatherly advisor, although my “Your father,” I said, “is obviously a feelings about her certainly weren’t fatherly.

man of many strong points. You’re very lucky In glancing about distractedly, Lila’s to have such a fine father.”

eyes fell on the cardboard box containing While this was my conviction, it was Dido Alstrong’s monkey suit. She pointed, also said out of a desire to build myself up by demanded, “is that—”

speaking well of her parent. Flattery of one’s “The ape suit belonging to that rascal family, I hold, is next to flattery of oneself.

Dido Alstrong,” I agreed.

She reacted rather oddly, though.

“What is it doing here?”

“Little do you know!” she said.

“Why, I have it in my custody, naturally,” I replied. “I insisted on that.”

“I’m surprised Savage let you keep it,”

she said.

34

DOC SAVAGE

“I was quite firm,” I said.

slightest sense. Logic just didn’t have any “I see,” she replied, but her thoughts horse to its cart.

and manner were self-involved.

Naturally I began thinking of Doc Sav-The young lady was distressed. This age, and didn’t feel good at all. Not that I felt touched me deeply; the young lady herself well to begin the thought, but Savage’s pos-touched me more deeply than anything else, sible reactions depressed me.

though. So intensely, in fact, that I was I had tried to take things into my own moved to walk over to her.

hands with Miss Farrar. I was supposed to “Lila,” I said hoarsely. “Lila, you’re wor-have custody of the baboon suit. Now I had ried.”

neither, a headache, and a deflated ego.

She nodded bitterly. “Yes, Henry, I’m There was a knock on the door. I terribly worried.”

wheeled, instinctively grasping my head with “Darling,” I said. “Darling, don’t be.”

both hands.

And I put my arm around her in a man-

“Mr. Savage?” I called.

ner rather more than comforting, and took “That’s right,” a voice said.

hold of her chin with my other hand, and en-I shouldn’t have opened the door. It deavored to kiss her.

wasn’t Savage’s voice at all. It was the voice She kissed me back. It was wonderful.

of the possessor of an extremely hideous It was skyrockets and whizz-bangs; it was automatic pistol, and he at once inserted the fountains of honey and clouds of flying worse end of the thing in my right eye.

sparks. I wished I had more experience kiss-

“Now start somethin’,” he said.

ing, because I hadn’t done very well. I de-He had a companion. After horror cided to try again. She moved a little, stopped hitting me like lightning, recollection squirmed.

furnished me with their identity. The two hold-The lights went out.

ups. The banditti who had raided the cocktail bar with the idea of eliminating me.

Short bandit swore another terrible SOME time later I got around to figur-oath. He had much the same manner he’d ing out which lights had gone out. The con-displayed in the genteel rum hole.

clusion was shocking. It was my own lights.

The longer one said, “Hold ‘im still. I’ll Not those in the room.

frisk ‘im.” He searched me. Meantime my eye As this dawned on me, I further real-was glued to the gun muzzle. The one doing ized that I was lying on the hard wooden lab the frisking said, “Clean. No hardware.” He floor, and my head felt awful. It felt worse examined my billfold, added with consider-when I tried to move it.

able disgust, “And only eleven bucks!”

I groaned loudly. Even that hurt.

“Only eleven bucks!” yelled short ban-Finally, exercising some caution, I dit. “We oughta shoot him just for that!”

managed to get to all fours, then erect, and “Where’s tha monkey suit?” long one into the washroom where I drank some wa-demanded.

ter, and examined my head. The knot on my “I—uh—Miss Farrar got it!” I gasped.

head was not visible to the eye, but it cer-

“So ya know that, do ya?” he said.

tainly felt the size of a young mountain to my “Well, well, that makes you a member of the fingers.

lodge. So come along, brother.”

Back at the scene of disaster, I found a “But I—”

large and heavy glass chemical bottle with “Would you rather stay here?” he the neck broken off, the two parts lying on asked ominously.

the floor. This, obviously, was what had I am not obtuse. I got his meaning.

turned out my lights. And Miss Lila Farrar “I guess not,” I said weakly.

had wielded it, after lifting it from the table while being kissed.

Miss Farrar, naturally, was gone.