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

to illuminate the way. Now he threw his flaring match away as unnecessary. It sizzled when it struck the icy floor.
    Chinua marched toward the wall of ice, with its dark, shadowy shape floating within. He studied it, wonder becoming a gleam in his brown, curious eyes.
    Doc Savage directed his blazing flashlight beam at the Mongol script carved in the rime centuries ago. It seemed to shimmer, as if written in lightning.
    No sooner did Chinua read this, than he sank to his knees as if prostrating himself before an idol he worshipped.
    Finally, he found his feet, turned stiffly and faced the Man of Bronze.
    “It is done. The deal has been struck. You are free to go your own way.”
    “Thank you,” said Doc Savage.
    Johnny objected, “Doc! This is one of the greatest discoveries of all time! We can’t just turn it over to them.”
    “We have no choice in the matter,” returned Doc Savage calmly. “This is their country, and their heritage. We have no legal right to a claim.”
    Chinua ignored this argument, which he could not understand since it was in English, and issued barking instructions, as if the white Americans were no longer present.
    He picked up the discarded pick axe, while others drew daggers, knives and even short swords. They commenced hacking away at the fractured outlines that Johnny Littlejohn had begun several days before.
    The long-worded archeologist became practically apoplectic. “Doc,” he pleaded. “If they drag the ice out of the cave, it will begin melting.”
    Doc Savage said firmly, “There is no stopping what has begun. We will have to allow events to take their course.”
    But the stork-like geologist would have none of it. He attempted to interfere by stepping up to Chinua and seizing the swinging pick axe.
    Snarling, the Mongol chieftain pushed him back and resumed his frantic work.
    Doc pulled Johnny back, and they stood watching.
    An hour of forceful toil produced a block of ice that could be removed. It was quite large, and very rough around the edges. Some of the Mongols carried short knives and curved swords. Several of these were severely bent or broken during the operation to pry loose the core of ice.
    Once the chunk containing the body had fallen forward and was no longer part of the ice wall, Chinua gave rapid instructions to haul it out of the cave.
    Ropes were brought and the ponies led up to the mouth of the cave. Strangely, the horses snorted and whinnied nervously, all but refusing to enter the cave itself.
    By carefully chopping crude eyelets into the ice, they were able to loop rawhide ropes into the holes and tie them into knots. In this fashion, the Mongols were able to haul the big block of ice out into the open air.
    Johnny Littlejohn watched this operation with haunted eyes, his fists skeletal knobs in which the knuckles were ivory chips.
    “Supercalamitous,” he said angrily.
    Monk muttered, “I don’t get this. What’s so important about the dead guy in the ice?”
    Johnny told him flatly, “That is no ordinary person in there. Unless I am gravely mistaken, the body entombed in that cave is no less than the terrible Asian warlord, Tamerlane.”
    “Tamerlane?” Ham protested. “He was one of the most feared conquerors to follow in the war boots of Genghis Khan.”
    “Are you sure it’s him?” demanded Long Tom skeptically.
    Doc Savage answered that. “The inscription on the ice, ‘If I still lived, mankind would tremble,’ is identical to the one inscribed upon the supposed tomb of Tamerlane.”
    “What do you mean, supposed?” grunted Renny.
    Johnny vouchsafed that reply. “The tomb of Tamerlane exists in the city of Samarkand, with that very same inscription upon it.”
    “Then this is some other stiff, right?” Monk put in.
    Johnny shook his shaggy head. “According to history, Tamerlane died during a long winter’s march to conquer China. He is said to have been buried in Samarkand, but the evidence in this ice cave suggests that account