ASSAULT ON MING (Alan Caillou's Cabot Cain)

[dochermes]

From August, 1969, this is one of the five Cabot Cain books written by Alan Caillou. Taking a tip from Bantam Books, Avon re-issued them all in 1972 with uniform covers that showed a large pose of Cain in action-- while below was a smaller rendition of the same figure in a scene from

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[zathras_ix]

As a final nod to Doc, Cain has to climb a thin nylon cord barehanded, and he remarks how difficult it is. His hands are "a bloody mess" when he's done. He would probably like to know how the Man of Bronze managed to hustle up and down that silk cord so easily.

A knotty problem, that, but easily remedied.

The first that a "silken cord" is used for climbing is in "The Man of Bronze" (Apr 1933), but isn't part of Doc's at that time. It does, however, make clear how one should approach using a silk rope.

"A stout silken cord, with hardwood rods about the size of fountain pens tied every foot or so for handholds, draped out of the open window. The end of the cord was tied to a stout radiator leg. And a tense jerking showed a man was going down it."

When Doc starts using the grappling hook and silk cord combo, the ease with which can climb such a thin line is attributed to his powerful grip, as in "The Lost Oasis" (Sep 1933).

"The silken cord, because of its small diameter, would have presented quite a problem to an ordinary climber. But so toughened were the big sinews in Doc's hands, that he gripped the line and climbed it with what looked like comparative ease."

The line appears to have been treated or rubberized in some way, as noted in "The Sargasso Ogre" (Oct 1933).

"He gained the liner. It was a long throw to lift his grapple to the rail. On the first attempt, the hook failed to hold, and came snaking back. The silken line was enameled, giving it a wire stiffness. It did not entangle easily."

In any case, it's most likely that Doc's climbing line was knotted like the one used by the Mayan assassin to provide regularly-spaced handholds more substantial then the line itself, but without the rods that turned the former into a lightweight rope ladder.

Given Doc's size, they could be spaced a yard apart. Dent was enamored of describing Doc as traversing his "silken cord" like a spider, imagery that would've been undermined by mentioning the knots.