Read Online The Avenger 16 - The Hate Master by Kenneth Robeson - Free Book Online

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    “There seem to have been a few details omitted,” said Smitty. “For instance, have you any idea what started the fight between Ainslee and Fox?”
    “None whatever,” said Ritter. He looked with a bland smile at Josh. “You represent a Negro publication?”
    “The Southern Courier,” nodded Josh, playing up Smitty’s punishing lead.
    Ritter moistened putty-colored lips, and Smitty went on with his questions but couldn’t pry out anything not already printed in the papers. Ritter herded them subtly into the house and down the hall toward the front door.
    “I . . . er . . . trust you two won’t bother to report my regrettable necessity back there on the terrace,” he said, opening the door for them.
    “Necessity?” said Smitty, face impassive.
    “Yes, of course. When a dog disobeys orders, it must be punished. Dogs must be kept well trained or they become nuisances to others, and that would be most inconsiderate on the owner’s part. Yet, I realize that it may have looked severe to two men chancing to come at the wrong moment.”
    Smitty and Josh said nothing, getting at least some small revenge from seeing him wriggle.
    “I hope to be president one of these days,” Ritter said, smiling widely with pale lips. “In fact, I have every reason to believe I will become so. And two . . . er . . . journalists who happen to be close friends of a president of the United States would be in a very fortunate position indeed.”
    “Yes, wouldn’t they?” said Smitty. And the two left.
    But with them went the vision of Ritter’s face just before he knew there was anyone watching. The face of a fiend, inflicting torment on a helpless animal for torment’s own sake. “I wonder how many times that faithful little servant of his, the one he called Knarlie, has kept people from seeing Ritter in one of those moods?” mused Josh.
    “Always, till now, I guess,” growled Smitty. “It would have come out in print if he’d been caught like that very often.”
    “And he wants to be president!” Josh’s jaw set. “How would you like a man like that in the White House?”
    Smitty felt like shivering.
    “I could believe anything about him,” he said. “Watch him is right! We’ll take day and night shifts and never let him out of our sight. Flip you for the night watch.”
    The coin came heads, so Smitty won. The giant got out of the car to take over the daylight vigil, with the politician still in the Weyland place. Josh went back to town to get some rest for the night watch over Ritter.
    And both kept seeing him at his diabolical work with the wire whip.

CHAPTER IX

Death in the Sky
    This time the meeting of the automotive heads was not held in any hotel. There was too much chance of publicity.
    It was held at the home of one of the magnates, and everyone was there save Ainslee and Fox. Ritter was there, too.
    The meeting was to discuss that price war between the two absent ones—a war that was going to mean chaos for hundreds of thousands of people. When any main industry in a nation is crippled, that nation is also put seriously out of order.
    So they met to see what could be done about it, and it was lucky they weren’t in a public place. For this time not just two men fought. They all did!
    Twenty-five men, dignified, reserved, representative of several billion dollars, became raving males who wanted only to hit each other as hard as possible with the first weapon at hand.
    Josh, on the outside of the house with a tiny stethoscope arrangement attached to the windowpane of the room in which the men had gathered, felt that he couldn’t be hearing correctly. Middle-aged and elderly millionaires behaving like gutter urchins! Bursting with hate for each other! Blacking each other’s eyes and throwing things around!
    Josh ventured to raise his head a very little, so he could see into the room. The thing he saw was the exit of Edwin Ritter.
    The handsome politician was slipping from the room with