
a lunch wagon and opened it for business. He got little trade at first, but after a while his lunch wagon
served as a hangout for schoolboys, and parents never had any cause to complain. Hiram with unfailing
good humor, kept any spirit of rowdiness to a minimum, and would not allow even an adult to take an
intoxicating drink in his place.
The sheriff was a thorough man—he found that the lunch wagon was locked securely, that there was
even some small change in the cash register. Hiram had occupied a small sleeping room at the rear of the
lunch wagon. Clothes were hanging neatly in a small closet and in a small bureau; there was no sign of
disorder. There wasn't a single personal item in the room to show Hiram Shalleck had a living friend or
relative—or enemy—outside of Lamar.
There was one strange thing—but the sheriff didn't pay much attention to it.
Shalleck evidently was a great admirer of a man named Clark Savage, Jr., and known as Doc Savage.
He had clipped a great many newspaper and magazine articles relating to Doc Savage, and had several
books the latter had written. The sheriff, of course, was convinced Shalleck could have had no real
connection with Doc Savage. But the sheriff was wrong, surprisingly wrong.
ON the night he vanished, two men appeared at Hiram Shalleck's lunch wagon, coming openly, driving
an old touring car. It was only ten o'clock, but already most of the town was asleep. The arrival of the
two men was not noticed.
One of the men got out of the car and went inside. He was a small man, excellently dressed, and a
pencil-thin mustache decorated his upper lip, while a green silk handkerchief was tucked in his breast
pocket. The man walked to the counter, stood there, and when Hiram turned around, the man held a gun
in his hand.
Hiram's eyebrows lifted, but otherwise his stolid features showed no emotion. "If this is a holdup, you're
in for slim pickings," he said. "There ain't ten bucks in the cash register."
The small man's thin lips split in a humorless smile. "Still the same old kidder, aren't you, Joe?" he said
conversationally. "No, I ain't down to ten-buck holdups yet. Close this flytrap and grab your hat. We're
taking a little trip."
Hiram's big shoulders went up and down. "My name's not Joe, and I don't know what you're talking
about," he said flatly. "But you've got the winning argument in your hand."
"You were always smart, Joe," the other chuckled. He emphasized the name Joe, and his small eyes
twinkled, as if over some secret joke.
Hiram said nothing more. Methodically, he finished straightening up, so the place would be ready to open
in the morning, for Hiram Shalleck did not yet know that he would not see his lunch wagon or Lamar
again.
The street outside was deserted. When they reached the car, the driver looked up from under a slouch
hat. "Any trouble, Dude?" he asked lazily.
The dapper little man chuckled again. "The big mutt doesn't know what's ahead of him. He was gentle as
a lamb."
Hiram Shalleck might have tried to get away then, but had no chance, for Dude jammed his gun hard in
Hiram's ribs, forced him into the rear seat of the car. The driver said nothing more, but seemed to know
where he was going, for he headed south, taking the road toward Springfield and the open prairie, and,