“I’m Luke Auber,” he told Tom.
They shook hands and Tom introduced him to
126 REPELATRON SKYWAY
the others. Auber had a rather surly manner, which riled Bud. His cold-eyed, hard-bitten look stirred Bud’s distrust. Suddenly he remembered hearing from Tom that the dinosaur story had been given out by a big-game hunter in Nigeria.
“Ever been in Nigeria?” Bud asked.
Auber nodded casually.
“How recently?”
Auber had already turned away, ignoring Bud’s question. Later Chow tried to corner him for a friendly chat. Auber listened with a thin smile, looking the cook over and saying nothing.
“Bit blubbery for jungle work, aren’t you, old boy?” he remarked when Chow paused for breath. “Oh, well, you’ll soon sweat some off, I suppose.”
Chow was left stuttering with indignation. “Brand my cactus hash, I don’t trust that Limey!”
“Neither do I,” put in Bud. “He could be the hunter who tipped off the newspapers.”
Tom shrugged. “There’s no real reason to suspect him-he’s not the only hunter in Africa.”
Darcy Creel came sauntering up. “Er-ahem- maybe I shouldn’t say this,” he confided, “but Auber doesn’t have too good a reputation.”
“How so?” Tom asked.
“For one thing, I’ve heard he’s been in trouble over in Kenya-for ivory poaching, or mistreating natives.” Creel spoke in a low voice.
Tom frowned. “Thanks. But since the Ngombian government hired Auber, I’m afraid I’ll have to keep him on for the time being.”
THE SKELETON BOMBER 127
Soon a base camp with metal shacks had been set up at the village. Then Hank Sterling left with two of the cargo jets for Copperville in East Ngombia. After landing, Hank radioed back a precise navigational fix of the spot chosen for the eastern terminus.
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