Free Doc Savage: The Ice Genius (The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage Book 12) by Kenneth Robeson, Lester Dent, Will Murray Page A

onto this,” said Doc Savage plainly.
    The Mongol, his mouth frozen in mid-laugh, looked a little sick. Then, as the reality of his predicament sank in, he resumed whooping, this time uproariously.
    Doc Savage, uncharacteristically, joined in the laughter.
    Soon, all the bandit clan were cracking up.
    Monk joined in, and gave Ham a sharp elbow to prod him into doing the same thing. Long Tom and Renny added to the raucous merriment. Renny’s booming guffaws caused several Mongols to examine the night sky for the lightning that was certain to follow this strange thunder. This hilarity went on for a few minutes, then naturally subsided.
    When quiet returned, Doc Savage informed the Mongol chief that he had something of great value to offer.
    “Offer?” returned Chinua.
    “Consider it a ransom for our freedom,” said Doc Savage.
    Chinua liked the sound of that. Since Doc Savage was holding him at gunpoint, it suggested that he was being respected. And not a mere prisoner.
    “What is this treasure you offer, foreign bronze devil?” demanded Chinua.
    “Frozen in ice, in that cave yonder, we have discovered a great thing,” intoned Doc.
    “What is the name of this great thing?” wondered Chinua.
    “The great thing,” explained Doc Savage, “is named Timur.”
    Chinua looked blank. His flat face was like a brass gong that had been beaten flat and pitted by the harsh elements of the Gobi.
    “Timur?”
    “Emir Timur,” stated Doc Savage.
    Strange, wistful expressions crossed the faces of the Mongol bandits, as if a ghostly wind had swept by, touching their hardy souls.
    They looked to one another in confusion, wonder, and uncertainty.
    “He lies buried in Samarkand,” insisted Chinua. “Every Mongol knows this.”
    Doc Savage shook his head somberly. “In that cave lies entombed in ice a man, and written on the face of the wall of protective ice are these words: ‘If I still lived, mankind would tremble.’ ”
    These words struck Chinua like a whiplash. His wind-weathered face quirked strangely, his brown eyes narrowing.
    With the ripping volley of words, he sent his second-in-command to investigate.
    This Mongol aide raced into the cave and was therein a very short period of time.
    He stepped out, waving his arms over his head excitedly, shouting, crying, “The bronze devil speaks the truth. It is true. Timur lies within!”
    A mighty shout erupted from the throats of the Mongol bandit horde. It seemed to shake the very stars.

Chapter VIII
    “IF I STILL LIVED—”
    STRANGE SOUNDS EMERGED from the pulsing throats of the Mongol bandits. Weird, excited cries. Ululations. They filled the bitterly cold night.
    Chinua tore his gaze from his excited comrade and met the hypnotic flake-gold orbs of Doc Savage. “I must see this with my own eyes,” he said, his voice thickened by hoarse emotion.
    Doc nodded. He escorted the Mongol to the cave entrance at rifle point.
    Chinua’s troops were strangely passive. They appeared absorbed in their unreal surroundings.
    Monzingo Baldwin and Johnny Littlejohn were permitted to stand up and accompany the group. Because the latter wore his hair in what was sometimes styled scholastic length, the rail-thin archeologist looked like a well-used mop draped in an ill-fitting suit of clothes. His normally narrow features were more hollow than usual.
    Johnny undertoned to Doc, “I have been a prisoner since our last communication. They have been trying to force me to divulge my reasons for being here. I refused to tell them, because of what is in the cave.”
    Doc nodded, said nothing.
    “What lies in the cave is too precious and too dangerous to fall into their hands,” hissed Johnny urgently.
    Doc said, “Your lives are also of value, and must be preserved at all costs.”
    Johnny said nothing. He appeared to be torn.
    They slipped into the cave, and Doc’s men produced flashlights. The Mongol who first entered the cave had a box of wooden matches, and this he had been using