25

The police called again. They were at He sweat a couple of pints while he was the cleaning fellow’s shop, had found out all showing Doc Savage which photographs the man knew about Albert Gross, and it were the north shore of Long Island.

wasn’t much. He remembered Gross. But it Doc Savage thanked him mildly, and wasn’t Gross who had brought in the stuff to asked me to show him out.

be cleaned; it was the chauffeur. The chauf-In the hall, Edsing grabbed me by the feur had brought in a half dozen of his boss’

necktie and blurted, “Do you think I’ll be suits at a time, explaining the boss had a fired?”

mad on at the cleaner out on Long Island I asked him: “What’s the matter, did a where he lived. The man didn’t know Gross’

taxpayer bite you back?”

address, nor did he know the chauffeur’s “Good God, I didn’t realize who he name and address. The chauffeur didn’t an-was,” Edsing gasped. “The Commissioner in swer the description of anybody we knew.

Albany was mad as a hornet. Man, he ate me

“What do we do now?” I asked. “Spend out up to here.” He looked as if he was going thirty days combing Long Island?”

to spray me with tears. “And me with a home Monk dug me. He said: “Oh, you admit I just paid two prices for, and a pregnant wife.

Gross lived on Long Island, now?”

Could you smooth it out for me with Sav-

“Just because one pin fell down don’t age?”

mean you got a strike,” I said.

“I’m having trouble smoothing it out for Doc Savage telephoned somebody myself,” I said. “But I’ll try.”

named Edsing. He didn’t get much satisfac-Edsing filled my ear full of grateful tion. He called somebody in Albany, the state words, and I got rid of him.

capitol, and the somebody said he would Savage and Monk Mayfair were going phone Edsing right now and see that Edsing over the aërial photographs.

delivered satisfaction.

I said: “That guy thinks he’s going to Monk Mayfair had me puzzled. When lose his job. His wife is in a family way, and it he went in the other room, I asked Doc Sav-might go hard on him.”

age: “This guy Mayfair’s got me guessing. He Savage was concerned. He told Monk looks like an empty box. He looks like some-Mayfair to send Edsing a note of thanks, and thing grass wouldn’t grow on. Maybe his say that if Edsing would call so-and-so hospi-looks are deceiving—eh?”

tal, Mrs. Edsing would find her hospital ser-

“Maybe,” Savage said.

vices wouldn’t cost her anything.

“Who is he?”

I asked: “Ain’t that a kind of expensive

“Monk? His full name is Lieutenant tip for the reluctant favor the guy done?”

Colonel Andrew Blodgett Mayfair. He has a Monk said: “Doc owns the hospital. So lot of letters after his name meaning degrees what?”

and fellowships, but if you used them he’d hit They finished up by marking rings you in the eye. He’s one of the world’s lead-around three houses, or estates, which had ing research chemists.”

greenhouses or stables and where construc-

“I guess I’ll overhaul my human-nature tion of one or more buildings had been re-yardstick,” I said.

cent, as evidenced by fresh grading work around the buildings.

“We’ll try those,” Savage said.

THE fellow Edsing, the one who hadn’t

“Damn it!” Monk said suddenly. “I’m given Savage satisfaction on the phone, ar-worried about Ham Brooks! Why hasn’t he rived. He was weighted down with satisfac-reported in? Something has happened to tion and anxious to deliver it. The somebody him.”

in Albany had certainly built a fire on his coat-I said: “The way you’ve been talking tail.

about this lawyer Brooks, I figure you rated Edsing was with the New York State him about the same as a bad smell in your Highway, Department of Planning—a job he socks.”

obviously feared might terminate as of to-

“Shut up!” Monk said.

night—and he had a suitcase full of aërial They left a message for Ham Brooks in photographs. It seemed that, last fall, his de-case he called. They told him the places they partment had made the pictures as a part of were going in Long Island, and why. Savage the planning for future highway development.

spoke this information into a gimmick that 26

DOC SAVAGE

recorded it, and Monk told me the machine He glanced at me as if I had pulled the would put the words into the telephone when rabbit out of the hat.

Ham Brooks called, if he called the unlisted “It could be,” he said.

phone number the contraption was hooked Anyway they were some detectives.

up to. I took his word for it.

They had just about made a believer out of “Sammy, you go along with us,” Doc me.

Savage said.

“Why?”

He didn’t give me much satisfaction.