Chapter 9 The Glass Grape

The two gunsels sat in their dark coupe, across from the hotel on Mason Street. Lines of worry wrinkled their foreheads, Babe losing his jovial look as a result. The pink-skinned gunsel gnawed nervously on his straw hat. After an hour of chewing, the damage to the chapeau was visible. "For the umpteenth time, Babe," said the rat-faced man, "I don't know what went wrong. The bronze guy must have been wearing some sort of bullet-proof vest." He had been trying to sooth Babe's nerves since their chief had learned Doc Savage was still alive, and informed the two gunsels in no uncertain terms that he was not happy about it. "You're lucky the boss didn't tell Shanks to kill you," the rodent-like man continued. As oblivious as before, rotund Babe did not notice the victorious "we" had reverted to the accusing "you". "We got off easy, considering Savage showed up at the island, as far as I'm concerned," said pink Babe, worry coloring his voice. "I wish that Chinaman would show up," his rat-like companion said idly. "All this waiting's making me nervous." "If we can find out what he knows, the boss'll let us off the hook," pig-like Babe said hopefully, less confident than he sounded. "For the love of--" exclaimed Rat-face, jerking erect in his seat. "The bronze guy!" Turning, Babe saw the non-descript sedan Johnny had driven--though neither of the two gunsels knew that fact--pull up to the curb in front of the hotel, Doc Savage at the wheel of the automobile. He parked the vehicle and departed it. "This isn't good," said the rodent-faced thug, shrinking down behind the dash of the coupe. Spurred by the danger, rotund Babe flew from his seat as if shot from a cannon. "Let's go." Rat-face followed. The two gunsels hurried across the street. They intercepted Doc at the front door of the famous hotel, before the bronze man had entered the building. Babe, his pleasantly-plump face now hard with malice, shoved a large automatic into Doc's side. The man of bronze halted at the feeling of the hard muzzle poking his ribs. "I know you're bulletproof," whispered pink-skinned Babe unpleasantly into Doc's bronze ear. "So if you try anything, my partner will start shooting people on the street." "I will co-operate," Babe heard the bronze man's calm voice say. "Good," said rotund Babe, smiling an ugly smile that showed his large, yellowing teeth. Fetid breath assaulted Doc's sensitive nostrils. "We're going across the street." Doc Savage walked in the direction pig-like Babe indicated by the poke of the hard gun in Doc's side. Babe's rodent-faced companion followed at a safe distance, in case the bronze man did anything suspicious. Rotund Babe opened a door, pushed Doc inside. The porcine thug seated himself beside the bronze man, keeping the hard gun in Doc's side. The rat-faced gunsel presently took his former position behind the wheel of the small vehicle. The bronze man's body trembled slightly, as if moved uncontrollably by fear. "He's scared," Rat-face said, incredulous at the sight of Doc shivering with fright. He hadn't forgotten their earlier encounter with the man of bronze. "Not so brave now that you're not in a crowd, are you?" Babe jeered, his fat face flushed with excitement. "Should I put my hands up?" Doc asked, indicating he did not want to give the two of them any reason to shoot him. "Ha," pink-skinned Babe, on the right, laughed. He giggled in a manner reminiscent of a pig's oinking, air gushing through his pug nose. "Sure," said the rat-like other. "If it'll make you feel safer." Rat-face started the engine of the coupe and stuck his head out the window to check for traffic. His thin head dropped, hitting the sill of the door with a loud "thump". Porcine Babe dropped his dark automatic, and sagged in his seat, slumping against the other door. Doc Savage lowered his arms, shook the right one slightly. Small, thin pieces of glass came tumbling out of his sleeve into his left hand. If the shards could have been put back together, they would have formed a hollow ball, about the size of a grape. Doc Savage routinely carried a supply of these small, glass globes, each filled with a liquid which evaporated upon exposure to the air, becoming a gas which would knock out the average man in seconds. The gas dissipated after about a minute. Doc had escaped the effects of the gas merely by holding his breath for that length of time. Although never officially timed, the bronze man could hold his breath many minutes, like the pearl divers of the South Seas. The man of bronze kept a number of the thin-walled glass balls at various points in his clothing. Each could be brought to a spot where Doc could crush them by a flexing of muscle--thereby releasing their contents--with a simple movement, such as the raising of an arm. Doc Savage entered his hotel room with porcine Babe on one shoulder. Behind him, the rat-like man lay on the carpeted floor of the corridor. "You've had a busy morning, I see," boomed Renny Renwick, boisterously. He probably couldn't whisper if he tried. The giant engineer's face became particularly dour at the sight of the bronze man with two unconscious prisoners. Things were starting to happen. "Glad to see you're still alive, boss," Lucky said, relief flooding his voice. Doc flopped rotund Babe down on the bed while the big engineer gathered up the rodent-like gunsel. He deposited the thug similarly. "This is about the only break we've had so far in this thing," the bronze man said with a tinge of disgust. He quickly told the two of the events which had transpired on Treasure Island. As he did so, Doc withdrew a small hypodermic needle and glass phial from his vest, and, using the syringe, began extracting an awful-looking liquid from the phial. Renny Renwick, familiar with what Doc was doing, said, "Long Tom was madder than a hornet's nest at not being able to come along. I'm glad it was you that told him, rather than me." When the scrawny electrician's wrath was aroused, not even the giant Renny or the mighty ape-like Monk--who could bend a penny between his thumb and forefinger--wanted to tangle with him. "He should be thankful he's walking as well as he is," Doc said without recrimination. "There will likely be no permanent damage from the injury he received." Long Tom's hip had been shattered recently during the course of an adventure. The bronze man injected each of his captives with the syringe. "It will have taken effect by the time they awaken," he said, standing. Minutes later, porcine Babe revived. Undoubtedly his greater mass enabled him to recover from the effects of Doc's anaesthetic gas more rapidly than the small rodent-like gunsel. He remained groggy, not completely coming to, due to the injection he had received. "What happened?" Babe mumbled wearily. His arms flopped by his sides, as if he was unable to bring them up in front of his body. "How are men turned to stone?" Doc Savage said quietly, his voice powerful despite its lack of volume. It possessed the dulcet tones of a bell. "I-I don't know," said Babe uncertainly. He seemed to be unsure if he should talk. Doc Savage's "truth serum"--which was an inaccurate term because it implied that it guaranteed the truth--caused a condition wherein the victim could not concentrate enough to formulate lies. He spoke the first thing that came into his mind in response to a question, which usually was the truth. Big Babe seemed to be aware he shouldn't talk, but couldn't help it. He could not prevent himself from speaking. The one drawback to the drug's use was that it was so powerful that it could cause permanent harm, even death, if used in too strong a dosage. If the drug didn't do the job in its initial application, the bronze man administered no more. "What is the name of your leader?" asked Doc Savage. "I don't know his name," replied Babe. "Holy cow, Doc," rumbled Renny in a low tone. "This guy doesn't know anything." The bronze man held up a hand to indicate Renny should remain quiet. Pig-like Babe was proving a difficult subject. "I think he's a scientist," Babe continued, oblivious to Renny's interruption. "What makes you think that?" the bronze man inquired. "He's smart. He knows how to turn people into stone." Renny's frown was particularly violent at this comment. "Where is my captive assistant being held?" Doc asked. Specific wording in the questions often yielded more specific answers from one in the drugged state. "On the boat, I think," intoned Babe. "What is the name of the boat?" "I don't know the name. I've never been there," Babe explained. The giant engineer's face screwed up in frustration at the lack of information coming from the porcine gunsel. Doc's face, Renny noticed, remained impassive as usual. If the bronze man felt any frustration, he didn't show it. "How did you come to work for the man who turns men to stone?" "I was hired by Shanks." Renny Renwick's eyebrow raised in curiosity. Maybe they would learn something valuable, after all. "Who is Shanks?" the bronze man asked. "He's the straw boss of the gang." "Where did Shanks recruit you?" "The Locker," said Babe. "As in Davy Jones' Locker," offered Lucky Loo, who remained in the background. "It's a waterfront dive." "Huh" hummed the big-fisted engineer in interest. It sounded like someone making the initial cut in a log--a low, rasping moan. Doc Savage was watching rotund Babe intently. "I think that's all we'll get from this one," he said quietly. Porcine Babe shivered slightly, then lost consciousness, as Doc had predicted. Doc Savage then questioned the rat-faced gunsel but learned no more from him than they had from pig-like Babe. A telephone call would be made that summoned an ambulance which would take the two prisoners to the airport, where a plane would fly them to Doc Savage's strange institution in upstate New York. Doc Savage had learned very little from the captives. The mastermind behind the stone deaths had been very careful about who knew what in his organization.

The Stone Death Written By: Jeff Deischer Dedicated to "Kenneth Robeson X" for his encouragement. The Stone Man is a work of fan fiction. Doc Savage is © Conde Nast Back to: Top of Page Index Page Home Page