Suddenly a voice behind the boys asked, “Trying to buy something?”
96 TRIPHIBIAN ATOMICAR
Tom turned in surprise. A huge, ruddy-cheeked man with a blond handlebar mustache grinned and stuck out his hand. “Mr. Wayne! I didn’t expect to meet you here,” Tom said, and introduced Bud to Simon Wayne.
The man chuckled. “I get around. Came here to land some business for Europa Fabrik! What about yourself?”
Tom replied guardedly and changed the subject by mentioning the incident with the bookseller.
“Hmm.” Wayne frowned and twirled his mustache. “That fellow who scared the proprietor may have been a member of the Assassins cult.”
This, he went on, was a group of religious fanatics who specialized in murder. The leader of the sect, known as “The Old Man of the Mountains,” had once had his stronghold in the Kabulistan highlands.
“Did the book have anything to do with the mountainous interior of the country?” Wayne asked.
Tom hesitated. “Yes, in a way.”
“That probably explains it,” Wayne said. “I’ve heard rumors the cult is active again, and trying to keep outsiders from learning anything about the territory where they hide.”
Bud shot an uneasy glance at Tom. Later, after they had parted from Wayne, Bud remarked with a gulp, “Let’s hope we don’t get our throats cut, poking around these hills I”
MYSTERIOUS HOSTILITY 97
As soon as they returned to the airport, Tom laid out a plan of action. Hank would stay in Shirabad that day to see about recruiting local workmen for the project. Meanwhile, Tom and the others would take off in the Sky Queen for a survey flight over the mountain-girded country.
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