can’t . . . oof.”
“Take that, you wise-mouth jerk,” he bellowed in the Dirks voice.
He thumped his fist against the side of the chariot and groaned.
Then he allowed a silence to ensue.
The machine-gunner took the bait. “Dirks, what’s happened?”
Cole counted off ten seconds before answering. “I got the gun. He had the drop on me, but I decked him anyhow. Come on over and grab him.”
They fell for it. Both of them came unsuspectingly around the chariot, the pilot with his revolver still in his belt holster, the machine-gunner with the weapon casually aimed at the sand.
“Never underestimate the power of illusion,” said Cole, grinning, his borrowed automatic pointed at them.
CHAPTER XXIV
A Small Invasion
Early that morning, when the wind began to die and let the sand fall back to earth, the Avenger had opened the cockpit of the chariot he’d been piloting. A few yards away were the other two craft they’d borrowed from the Oasis’s underground hangar.
Smitty popped up out of his craft nest. “Are we ready to get back in the air, Dick?”
Turning away from the wind, the Avenger answered, “Yes, I think this is the last of the sand storm.”
They had traveled about ten miles last night, with Benson’s chariot in the lead, when the force of the wind and swirling sand had forced them to put down for the duration of the blow.
“We hae lost a good bit of precious time,” observed Mac as he emerged into the morning.
“So has everyone else,” reminded the Avenger.
Smitty came all the way out of his ship and slid down the top of the thing onto the sand. “Before we take off, Dick, I got to know what these guys have been up to. You asked most of the questions back there under the Oasis whilst me and Mac was mopping up.”
“Out in the desert, some way beyond the place we’re bound for,” explained Benson, “is a large preserve of government land. No one is allowed near the area, not even the local law. No commercial or military flights are allowed to pass over that ten-mile square.”
“Some kind of government hush-hush government deal, huh?”
MacMurdie had joined Smitty next to Benson’s ship. He scratched his chin, saying, “They must be testing something out of doors then, a new airplane, or maybe some kind of artillery piece.”
“I think it’s more important than that,” said Benson. “None of the men I questioned with the truth gas knew the specifics. I suspect our government may be using this particular site to work on some kind of atomic weapon.”
“Whoosh,” exclaimed Mac, “ ’tis the atomic bomb we’ve ourselves mixed up with?”
“You know an atom bomb is inevitable, Mac. And it will be either us or the Germans who get it first.”
“Aye, though the English mot have a long-shot chance.”
“Unlikely that either the British or the Russians are in a position to put forth the required effort now,” said the Avenger.
Smitty said, “So that’s what all this mumbo-jumbo is about, these flying chariots. To spy on this desert project.”
“You’ll notice each of these crafts is equipped to take aerial photos both day and night, Smitty.”
The giant shook his head. “And Ralph must have run into one.”
Benson nodded. “One of the men I questioned knew something about your friend’s death, Smitty.”
“You should have told me then, Dick. I’d like to have taken the—”
“The man himself wasn’t responsible. It was apparently Danker himself, the head man, who was piloting the chariot in question,” said the Avenger. “It had a temporary malfunction and was forced to land. Ralph Stevenson happened by at just that moment. He went to offer help. Danker didn’t want help, he wanted anonymity. So he killed Ralph.”
“How?”
“Some sort of poison gas was used,” said Benson.
Smitty pressed his lips tight together and nearly closed his eyes. “Damn,” he said at last. “Of all the stupid ways . . . it was just a coincidence that Ralph
“Take that, you wise-mouth jerk,” he bellowed in the Dirks voice.
He thumped his fist against the side of the chariot and groaned.
Then he allowed a silence to ensue.
The machine-gunner took the bait. “Dirks, what’s happened?”
Cole counted off ten seconds before answering. “I got the gun. He had the drop on me, but I decked him anyhow. Come on over and grab him.”
They fell for it. Both of them came unsuspectingly around the chariot, the pilot with his revolver still in his belt holster, the machine-gunner with the weapon casually aimed at the sand.
“Never underestimate the power of illusion,” said Cole, grinning, his borrowed automatic pointed at them.
CHAPTER XXIV
A Small Invasion
Early that morning, when the wind began to die and let the sand fall back to earth, the Avenger had opened the cockpit of the chariot he’d been piloting. A few yards away were the other two craft they’d borrowed from the Oasis’s underground hangar.
Smitty popped up out of his craft nest. “Are we ready to get back in the air, Dick?”
Turning away from the wind, the Avenger answered, “Yes, I think this is the last of the sand storm.”
They had traveled about ten miles last night, with Benson’s chariot in the lead, when the force of the wind and swirling sand had forced them to put down for the duration of the blow.
“We hae lost a good bit of precious time,” observed Mac as he emerged into the morning.
“So has everyone else,” reminded the Avenger.
Smitty came all the way out of his ship and slid down the top of the thing onto the sand. “Before we take off, Dick, I got to know what these guys have been up to. You asked most of the questions back there under the Oasis whilst me and Mac was mopping up.”
“Out in the desert, some way beyond the place we’re bound for,” explained Benson, “is a large preserve of government land. No one is allowed near the area, not even the local law. No commercial or military flights are allowed to pass over that ten-mile square.”
“Some kind of government hush-hush government deal, huh?”
MacMurdie had joined Smitty next to Benson’s ship. He scratched his chin, saying, “They must be testing something out of doors then, a new airplane, or maybe some kind of artillery piece.”
“I think it’s more important than that,” said Benson. “None of the men I questioned with the truth gas knew the specifics. I suspect our government may be using this particular site to work on some kind of atomic weapon.”
“Whoosh,” exclaimed Mac, “ ’tis the atomic bomb we’ve ourselves mixed up with?”
“You know an atom bomb is inevitable, Mac. And it will be either us or the Germans who get it first.”
“Aye, though the English mot have a long-shot chance.”
“Unlikely that either the British or the Russians are in a position to put forth the required effort now,” said the Avenger.
Smitty said, “So that’s what all this mumbo-jumbo is about, these flying chariots. To spy on this desert project.”
“You’ll notice each of these crafts is equipped to take aerial photos both day and night, Smitty.”
The giant shook his head. “And Ralph must have run into one.”
Benson nodded. “One of the men I questioned knew something about your friend’s death, Smitty.”
“You should have told me then, Dick. I’d like to have taken the—”
“The man himself wasn’t responsible. It was apparently Danker himself, the head man, who was piloting the chariot in question,” said the Avenger. “It had a temporary malfunction and was forced to land. Ralph Stevenson happened by at just that moment. He went to offer help. Danker didn’t want help, he wanted anonymity. So he killed Ralph.”
“How?”
“Some sort of poison gas was used,” said Benson.
Smitty pressed his lips tight together and nearly closed his eyes. “Damn,” he said at last. “Of all the stupid ways . . . it was just a coincidence that Ralph
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