The Sunday Oregonian., September 13, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 10, Image 56

HE
Gin&
A Broken VVorcoriigram
(Torvrlght. 1BO. by W. O. Chspmsn.
v.pyrlht GfMt Britain.
LiT ELEGRAM for you. Clarke." I
I " said, as I took the message
X which the boy delivered at the
door of our Oak-street apartments one
morning; In midsummer. A shade of
anxiety passed over the face of my
house mate. Strang. I thought, that
Carlton Clarke, the great telepathic de
tective, should be disturbed by so or
dinary an event as the receipt of a
telegram. , .
Clarke took the yellow envelope, and
held It thoughtfully in his hand as a
woman studies a telegram befofe sum
moning the courage to open it.
"Do ou remember Thaida?" he
asked suddenly, still holding the enve
lope as I signed the messengers' book.
Hid I remember Thaida? As Jf I
could forget that florlous vision of
young womanhood that had flashed
Into our presence In the ghetto dis
trict of New York and whose psy
chometric mind had aided us In the
solution of the puzzling mystery of the
"Blue Bokhara."
"I see you do," continued Clarke.
"Well, my mind has been filled with
forebodings concerning her all morn
ing. I have no word from her for
several weeks. Something tells me
that (Ma message concerns her and
that the news is not good. We will
see ' and he tore open the envelope
and read it hastily. A look of distress,
passing quickly to a black frown of
an?er, overspread his face. Without
a word he passed the message to me.
I read:
"On board S. S. Magellan, off Pen
sacola, Fla.. Marconi Station. The
wolfs fangs "
No signature. A cipher? None that
I was familiar with, yet it must have
a meaning and deep and terrible
one. for as I looked at Clarke his eyes
biased with anger and beneath K he
wore a- look of the deepest concern.
It is from her. The wolf! I must
save her. but how? Sexton, can I
count on your
Tou know that without asking." I
replied, "but I haven't the slightest
idea what it all means."
"Of course not. Come Into the li
brary and I will tell you while we
plan some method of ctlon, I do not
yet know what.
"I first met Thaida," continued
Clarke, when we were seated in the
library, "when I was an Interne at
Bellevue. She was a student, delving
deeper than the mind of woman ordi
narily goes into subjects philosophi
cal and psychological. She was a true
friend, a jovial companion, and these
traits, allied with the beauty of which
: you can testify, had the effect of gath
ering about her an ever enlarging
court. But with an admirable reserve
she held them all at length.
I alone came the nearest to her con
fidence, and the life we lived was ideal,
both too busy for our chosen work to
mar it by thoughts of anything closer,
both protected, she by her womanly
reserve. I by my sincere respect for
her. .
"Then Compte Armand de LoUp
came into our lives. He was a young
French nobleman, very rich, living
where and how he pleased. We were
attracted to him by his love of the
occult which he had studied In India,
In Tibet, wherever the minds of think
ers run In the direction of thenknow
able. He was suave, handsome and,
at first, charming In every way. ' It
was not long, however, until his ad
vances to Thaida became so pronounced
as to cause her to fear him and me
to- hate him with all my heart. When
it became necessary for her definitely
to repel his offers he went out of our
sphere as suddenly as he had entered
it, but leaving behind him his curses
and his vows of the most terrible ven
freance his fiery Gallic spirit could In
vent. "Nine years have passed since then
and no blow has fallen, unless this Is
it. After he left, translating his name
literally, we called him 'the wolf." We
often talked Jokingly of the time
when the threatened fangs of the wolf
would close upon us. 'The fangs of
the wolf.' It must be Thaida."
As Clarke was speaking the bell
rang again and a second messenger
an-ived. Clarke feverishly tore open
the cover and reading it passed it to
me. It was:
" have struck. Save me."
Like the first it was sent by Marconi
system from the steamship Magellan.
"Wait." exclaimed Clarke. "We can
do nothing. There will be a third. She
Is sending me word despite some terrible
obstacle."
Ha had hardly finished when the third
message arrived. Sent from the same
station. It read:
" come to "
Would there be a fourth that would
give us the final clue? All the day we
waited with all the patience we could
summon, but It came not. Clarke spent
the time poring over the timetables of
the North and South lines. At last he
gave up and throwing the timetables
from him he exclaimed: "Something has
happened. She cannot finish. But there
Is another means If only she will try It."
Then he lay back In his chair and
closed his eyes. For more than an hour
he did not Mir. I began to think he
slept. Then be Jumped up so suddenly
that he startled me.
Quick! I have It. We are going.
Pack. Don't forget the arms and plenty
of ammunition, and put In those four au
tomatics we got the other day. There
may be hot work before we ever see
Chicago again. Let's see. the train
leaves in an hour and a quarter."
"But where are we going?" I asked,
involuntarily.
"New Orleans," he shouted as he
dashed Into his room to throw his clothes
out to me to pack.
We reached New Orleans at dusk and
took a cab from the railway station. As
we drove away, looking out of the cab
window I saw a swarthy, roughly dressed
man enter anothf r cab which Immediately
followed us. I thought nothing of the
incident at the time except to wonder
how such a looking Individual happened
to be riding in cabs.
As we entered our hotel I looked back.
The roughly dressed fellow had dis
charged his cab and taken up a position
across the street where he could watch
the door of the hotel.
"Ah! we are watched," whispered
Clarke, exultantly. "That proves we are
on the right trail. We have but to turn
watchers ourselves to find the end of It."
We registered under assumed names,
went directly to our rooms and had din
ner brought up. While we were eating
Clarke laid tne plans for 'the night. I
felt assin-ed that his Iron body and
nerves of steel would not relax until he
had accomplished something, yet I com
plained that he had assigned to me the
hardest task of all. that of watching pa
tiently in the hotel until he shoulu need
me. I bent, now ever, to bis argument
MAN
-the Chronicles or (sarlton
that one of us at least should get some
sleep and be fresh for the morrow.
"Keep your ear open for the telephone."
warned Clarke as he left. "I'll call you
the minute I have need of you."
I may have rested, but I cannot say I
slept much. All night I turned over in
my mind all phases of the puzzle. What
had the note told Clarke? Why were we
soon met and followed?
How did he expect to pick up the trail
In this strange city? Where then would
It lead to? There was obviously no an
swer to any of these questions, and I
must have dropped off to sleep when the
telephone bell In the room startled me
Into consciousness. I snatched up the
receiver.
"It's me Clarke. Are you dressed?
Thafs good. Pack everything and slip
out through the kitchen. Give the night
porter a dollar and he will guide you.
Don't worry about the bill. It's paid.
You'll find a boy waiting at the kitchen
door. Follow him. He will guide you.
Watch tnat you are not followed. Now
hurry."
He needn't have added that. I found
the kitchen door as he directed and dis
covered there, puffing ' nonchalantly at a
cigarette, one of those beagles 01 tne
city, a messenger boy. He grabbed one
of the suit cases that I carried and we
were away. I followed him blindly
through alleys and courts, turning hither
and thither after a fashion so devious
that I would have defied the most expert
shadow to have followed us. At last we
emerged onto a street where the boy
hailed a car. "Takes us right to where
de udder chap Is waitin'. gov'ner," he
said.
By this time it was dawn and I
could see that our way led In the di
rection of the levee; the streets were
filled with two-wheeled cotton carts
guided by sleepy negroes. We left the
car and my guide dodged In and out
among the long wharf houses until he
came to a small boat landing where a
number of small craft were tied up.
One of these I had marked from afar.
It was a graceful cabin launch of about
35 feet water line, a perfect beauty,
trim and staunch. One might, with a
fair break of Wfather, sail her out into
the gulf, around the keys, right on up
the coast and smack Into New York
harbor.
Clarke was pacing restlessly to and
fro on the landing puffing at a cigar
ette and keeping his weather eye upon
the opening betwten the wharf houses.
"I thought you were never coming.
Here, Into the launch, quick!" and he
designated the beauty which I had ad
mired. I Jumped aboard, Clarke threw a bill
to the boy, threw off the line, followed
me and started the engine.
"Gee, I wish I was goln' along," the
boy shouted as we swung Into the
broad Mississippi and headed down the
107 miles that separate New Orleans
from the delta.
Clarke was busy with the engine
and wheel and I took advantage of the
opportunity to look about me. We
were provisioned for a cruise. Within
the cabin In a little cook's galley aft
was the most complete miniature cui
sine I had ever seen a tiny oil stove,
a cupboard stocked with all manner
of provisions. Had It been a pleasure
trip I could, have asked nothing bet
ter. Now we were dancing along merrily
over the rippling surface of the mighty
river, dodging In and out of the craft
of all nations which, owing to the
genius of American engineering, are
able to make this inland port. Clarke
steered by the side wheel and a grim
smile of satisfaction stole over his face.
"At last." he said. "Now I can tell
you whither we are bound and what
we probably have before us, but this
work of steering Is getting tiresome.
Come and lake the wheel and I will
get my pilot to work."
I took the wheel and watched Clarke
curiously while he lifted the cushions
and removed the seat upon which I had
been sitting. Almost with horror I saw
extended in the locker the rigid form or
a man.
"You may get up now." said Clarke,
and the body rose to a sitting posture,
climbed painfully out of Its narrow
quarters and stretched its cramped
limbs. The fixed expressslon and the
glassy eyes told me the secret a per
fect state of hypnosis. It was the
man of the cab, the watcher at the
hotel.
And then the full Import of Clarke's
devilish cunning, his mastery of the
minds of men by the use of forces
which bordered , on the supernatural,
dawned upon me. Here was the pilot
which would guide us to the lair of the
wolf and to Thaida, the spy turned to
account against his own employer. The
path lay by water. this evidently
Clarke had discovered.
"Yes. it was absurdly simple," re
marked Clarke, quietly, divining as he
so often seemed to do my train of
thought.
"As soon as I found we were watched
I knew I had the master key to the sit
uation. It was easy to turn from the
shadowed to the shadow. I slipped out
of the hotel through the kitchens, pre
pared the way for you. and while our
pilot here was watching the front en
trance of the hotel I was within a step
of him and watching him. You know my
method and it was not long before I had
him in my power and knew all that he
knows. It Is not much except that De
Loup has some sort of rendezvous on an
obscure Island about 30 miles up the
coast from the delta. It is called the He
des Serpents and we are going to find
out what goes on there. God send we do
not get there too late!" Clarke's eyes
took a faraway look and I knew he was
thinking of Thaida.
Meanwhile the stoical figure held the
wheel and guided us in and out among
the thinning craft, Clarke's eyes ever
upon him, Clarke's brain ever directing
the hand at the tiller.
It was far from a pleasure trip, that
107-mile ride to the delta, which we
reached about 3 in the afternoon. The
presence of that silent stoical figure at
the wheel "lay like a load on the weary
eye." It tried my nerves and I believe
that even the Iron nerve of Clark was
not Immune to the influence, for In an
hour or two he arose, and' motioning
me to take the wheel, with a few passes
and a snapping of the fingers he brought
our unwilling guest back to a normal
state. At first he sat dazed and awed,
but as his senses returned his Ire arose
and he poured forth In mingled French
and Khglish a perfect torrent of bise.
Clarke watched htm. ready to forestall
any attempt at violence.
"You have seen what may happen to
you." said my confrere quietly, when
there was at last a lull. "Now you can
make your choice of three things. Either
you will guide us willingly to L'He des
Serpents or you will return to a state of
hypnosis and guide us or else you will
be taken there In irons and if your mas
ter should chance to get the better of us
the last living act of mine will be to
tum you over to him and brand you as
a traitor."
"Bet look as eef I was what you say
opp against It anyway. Say no more. I
vill guide you. But I vill die. You all
WIT
&
N6 yiy?c5s'
r cw.
vill die. De Loup he Iss one devil. I haf
been there once, twice, three times In za
launch. Dere Iss many men dere. De
Loup he tell me he cut my eyes out eef
I ever tell de way. I haf not been on se
Island but I haf seen enough. Dere Iss
no good goes on dere. But zat Iss not
my business. I am pay to watch. I vill
go. but we all vill die an dose what dies
first vill be de luckiest."
"No. we'll not die." replied Clarke.
'Not If I can help It. and If there is a
possible way to do It I will see that you
run no rlRk. It may .be you can land
us and then stand off until we signal you.
If you are true to us we will take care of
you. You've only changed employers, my
good fellow, and got the best of the bar
gain." Clarke's generous tone and the sparkle
of his eye seemed to inspire a sudden
confidence In Bloc, as we learned his
name to be. A look such as might have
mantled the face of a sergeant of the
"Old Guard" when the "Little Corporal"
pinched his ear stole over his features.
He arose and. looking Clarke squarely in
the eye. grasped his hand. From the
moment of that action he was one of us.
and we had no fear but that he would
play his part and play It well.
At last we were out on the blue danc
ing waters of the gulf, beyond the low,
flat-lying "mud lumps" of the delta.
The wind had now freshened and was
blowing almost a gale. With It the sea
rose, and, looking through the green
sheets of water that dashed over our lit
tle glass-covered cabin. It did not seem
that our frail craft could live a minute.
But fortunately the wind was dead ahead
and we were taking the waves trans
versely, mounting them gracefully, slid
ing off Into the trough and taking only
the thin spray of the crest. At last dark
ness fell, and with It the wind.
"Before midnight we make eet," said
Bloc, who was steering by the compass.
Silently we drew on the larder for a re
past consisting of "whatever we could find
that needed no cooking. Then, despite
the tossing of our craft. I succeeded In
making a pot of steaming hot coffee. We
were too near the unknown to be In the
mood for conversation.
About 11 o'clock Bloc who was peering
Into the darkness ahead, whispered: "A
la droit ' L'He des Serpents."
I looked, and, rising out of the dark
ness was a black mass against the softer
shades of the shore line.
"Is there a harbor?" I asked.
"Yes," answered Bloc; "It Iss xe delta
of ze rivair sat make se Isle. We go up
ze first mouth."
Our lights were already out, and the
moon was breaking through racing banks
of clouds. At closer range and with the
better light I examined the Island, which
seemed to be about three acres in extent.
In the center rose the square walls of
what seemed to be a castle keep. If there
were windows there were no lights to
distinguish them; only the four black
walls of masonry outlined against the
sky. The shore was a mass of overhang
ing Cyprus dripping with trailing Span
Clarke,
- . la'
isrimma nvstencs. by frank lovell
ish moss. We skirted the shoreward side
of the island and were entering the other
outlet of the river when Bloc's sharp eyes
discerned a break in the tangled mass of
plant life.
"Look out for ze ' snakes, messieurs:
we're going in." whispered Bloc. I peered
up at the Cyprus branches as we swept
under them. They were a mass of squirm
ing, sprawling life. My veins were threads
of ice. No wonder they called it the Isle
of Serpents.
Now we were past the Jungle of swamp
life and going along at half speed be
tween two solid walls of masonry where
the wind penetrated not. This walled
canal brought us at last to a three-sided
landing, two sides flanked by the Jungle,
the center side Joining the wall of the
castle. Into this harbor we crept on our
own impetus that not even the muffled
chug of the propeller might betray our
presence. At one side of the landing was
a trim little launch, almost the counter
part of our own. Was this Do IP"
mode of entry to his castle? Then doubt
less he was at home. And if he was
there Thaida was there also.
With directions given in whispers we
made fast to the landing.
"You will stay here with the launch,
whispered Clarke to Bloc, "and have it
ready to get away at once in case we
need it."
"Then tt iss lat monsieur doubts me?
answered Bloc in a grieved tone. "He
has only to try me."
"Do you think I doubt -you when I
thus place our lives in your hands?"
replied Clarke, seizing him by the
hand. "But you can aid us here. Are
your arms in readiness. Sexton? Then
keep them concealed, for we doubtless
are outnumbered and diplomacy may
win more than force."
We stepped lightly out on the land
ing and found ourselves facing a door
of iron In the otherwise blank wall;
a heavy door lncrusted with knobs and
beset with strange heraldic devices In
bas relief. These rather drew Clarke s
attention and he studied them earnest
ly in the dim light. Then turning to
me with a smile of triumph he whis
pered: "Ah. I thought so. I have the
master kev. Come, we will go in."
No' sound broke the stillness. There
was nothing to denote that a human
habitation of any sort lay beyond the
blank wall.
Clarke lifted a heavy knocker In the
center of the door and began a tattoo of
alternating long and short raps. These
were answered from within and my com
panion In his turn answered these signals.
Then the door swung slowly 'open and
a gigantic form appeared framed in the
dark background of the opening.
"What Is your age?" challenged a deep
voice. , ,
I was thunderstruck at Clarke s an
swer In an even, fearless tone.
"Five years," he said.
"Whence do you come?" again In
quired the voice.
"From the eternal flame," answered
my companion.
MASTlD
Telcbaiho-DcdueliVe
1 a
"Whither do you
go;
rang out
the
question.
"To the flame eternal
was the reply.
"Whom do you bring?"
"A hitherto .deluded soul who would
gain admission' among us and thus learn
the true story of the fail of the great
Ball-Zeboub."
And then It dawned upon me that
no matter with what diabolical fra
ternity we were dealing Clarke, with
his wonderful knowledge of the vaga
ries that have possessed the human
mind since the dawn of ages, had Its
ritual at his tongue's end.
"But you waste our time, wliich is
precious. If the examination Is satis
factory lead us to the Vice-Regent of
Lucifer and If he so desire he may ques
tion us further." commanded Clarke in
a tone of authority.
" 'Tie well. To the Temple of Ba
homet," answered the sentry.
He turned and motioned us to fol
low. We entered and heard the door
close behind us with a' click, leaving us
In utter, absolute darkness.
"Your arms." whispered Clarke. "Have
them ready revolvers loose In your hol
sters, automatics In your side pockets,
and button your coat so that nothing
shows. Leave the rest to me. Keep
your nerve no matter what happens and
remember It's all humbuggery. The real
and only danger is in the Count him
self. Just then the lights1 flashed forth
and we' stood in a blaze of electricity.
The first Impression was terror, but I
recalled Clarke's assurance. We were
In a grotto like passageway about 40
feet In length. From the walls, the roof
and all about us, grinned and scowled
the most hideous countenances of gar
goyles, imps, writhing and twisting rep
tiles and all sorts of grotesque and Mach
lavellan shapes, the eyes of each an elec
tric bulb of green or red or white.
At the end of the passage, now flicker
ing, now darting to the right and left In
serrated, forked tongues of fire, now ris
ing and flashing until it filled the entire
doorway, was a livid sheet of flame. We
seemed to be looking Into the bowels of
some mighty furnace, even into the
mouth of the very Infernal regions.
Sometimes the flames grew so white and
seething that it seemed the very walls
must melt away and tumble Into It. Yet
as we approached nearer and nearer we
felt no heat.
Clarke stood and looked about him with
a sneer upon his lips. Neither of us at
tempted even to whisper.
And then, seemiror to come from the
roof over our heads, spoke a voice so
terrible in its menace, so steely cruel In
its tones that I felt my knees begin to
batter agains each other.
"Let them that would look upon the
face of the Vice-Regent of the Evil One
enter through the eternal flames," It said.
"If they come on the business of the
great Lucifer they pass unscathed. Oth
erwise they wither up and die."
Our guide had disappeared as If by
magic Motioning me to follow, Clarke
pressed forward. We neared the flame,
and still there came no heat. Then
Clarke stepped Into It and was lost to
sight while I stood alone in that awful
corridor. Summoning all my courage. I
too stepped into the flame. Beyond a
tingling of the nerves and a stinging of
the skin. I felt no sensation.
I found myself with Clarke in an Im
mense hall, the counterpart In devilish
decoration of the passageway we had
left. The walls, roof and floor were of
stone, and the whole scefie was so
broken with recesses, grottoes and innu
merable stone images of satanlc beings
that it was difficult to Judge its size.
Behind us the flame alternately flashed
and flickered. If there Was another en
trance It was so cunningly concealed as
to escape our notice. Before us was a
massive altar, apparently hewn In the
solid rock, though upon closer examina
tion I found It. as well as all of the in
terior decoration, to be of molded con
crete. We were alone. At least we saw no
forms but those of the devils and imps
that, as in the corridor, flashed their
many colored eyes upon us from ail sides.
Suddenly the stillness was broken by a
voice from ' somewhere in the deep re
cesses of the cavern, a voice steely and
cruel In its icy suavity. ......
"Welcome to the halls of the Knights
of Perfect Silence."
Clarke's eves lit In recognition as he
searched the blaze of lights for some
clue to the whereabouts of the speaker.
"Ah," continued the voice. "Messieurs
arrive a la bonne heure. They have es
caped the serpents and passed the big
guard, but it is le mauvals chance for
them. It is an easy death to die by a
snake. There are others not so easy.
"We have no fear of you. Count Ar
mand de Loup." replied Clarke In a
steady voice.
"Ah. then, it Is that Monsieur Clarke
knows me. But he cannot see me. None
can. No matter; Monsieur Clarke will
see me this night when, with his friend,
he views the initiation of a fair novice
whom he will know into the Order of the
Palladium." ,,
"Then thank God we are not too late,
I heard Clarke mutter.
"But messieurs have arms of the lat
est and most approved pattern, no doubt.
I fear it will not be the part of wisdom
for them to see the ceremony from where
they stand. Shall we rush to the earth
and snatch these dangerous weapons
away from them? No, that would be
une gaucherie. There' Is a softer way.
Ah. that is It. The position Is perfect."
It came so quickly we had no means
of saving ourselves. With the hollow
mocking laugh of the fiend ringing In
my ears. I felt the floor give way be
neath me and myself falling down, down,
I knew not where. Then the sides of the
well Into which I had dropped began to
converge so that my fall gradually was
checked. The sides were padded, and I
suffered no hurt. My feet touched some
thing solid. I was standing erect, but in
confines so narrow that I could not raise
my arms from my sides. I remember
my nose Itched violently, and I rubbed
It against the padded wall In front of
me. I breathed without effort, but 1
could see nothing.
Then my prison house began to stir
with a jerky motion. From the tilting
i' judged It was being rolled up an In
cline. At length it stopped, and from
the rays that sifted in through the crev
ices I knew that I was in a brilliantly
lighted apartment. Around me I could
hear the movement of hurrying figures.
One of these came close to my prison
house. I heard an order given In short,
quick tones. An aperture before my eyes
shot open and a blaze of light for the
moment blinded me.
I looked and I saw a semi-circle of
cowled and shrouded figures seated
about the same altar which we had seen
on entering the hall. I counted 13 of
them. Before the altar walked a tower
ing figure of Mephlstopheles. with flash
ing black eyes, pointed, out-turning Im
perial and ebony, buffalo-horn mustaches
and a forelock of black hair that waved
in unison with the nodding red cock's
feather of his cowl as he walked. He
looked as if he had just stepped from
the comic opera boards, but I felt that
the stage was set for some terrible trag
edy in which we were the audience and
might shortly become the victims.
Then, with leisurely stride, the count,
for I surmised that it was he, walked
down before me.
"Ah, Mons. Clarke." he. said. "You
will from your little cage have a fine
view of the Initiation."
Clarke then was beside me In a con
trivance similar to my own. I was
mentally thankful for his propinquity,
though he was its helpless as myself.
But at once tne full force of the
fiend's devilish plans struck me. This
then was the revenge of the wolf, pa
tiently built in nine years of waiting,
backed by unlimited wealth and some
dark order of which he no doubt was
the head and the controlling spirit.
Thaida, I could not doubt but that It
was she. was to undergo some terrible
rite, what I knew not. Clarke, his
hands upon weapons he was powerless
to UBe, must stand Impotent and see.
The broken m&rconlgrams, were they
also a lure? And the spy won over,
was he also but playing his part to
lead us Into the trap and then steal
away our sols mode of escape, the
launch? Had Clarke, with his marvel
ous prescience, foreseen all this and
had he some latent power, some well
devised move to checkmate his ene
my In the desperate game? I trusted
him. yet my brain reeled at the puzzle.
The Count left us and returned to
his position. The ceremony, whatever
it was, seemed about to begin. From
out of the shadow of the grotto came
a figure clad all in white.
I looked. Yes, It was Thaida.
She seemed even more beautiful than
In the brief period when I had before
seen her. Her robes clung to the grace
ful outlines of her willowy form. Her
black hair was colled tightly Into a
crown about her beautifully shaped
head and In Its tresses one red rose,
matching perfectly tne coral of her
lips, was the only bit of color. Proudly
she walked, and Hypatia before the
monks of Cecil was not lovelier nor
more disdainful of her executioners.-'
-She took her place calmly before the
center of the seml-clrcle. The Count
approached her and, taking her hand,
touched It to his lips with a trium
phant smile. She offered no show of re
sistance. Had she steeled herself to
submit meekly to whatever be in store
for her? Then ensued some ritualistic
gibberisn of which I could not catch
the Import, during wnlcn each member
of the semi-circle seized what looked to
be a chalice from the altar and beat
upon it with a short stick.
"O, Lucifer, Star or the Morning,
answer thou unto the conjuration of
the Four and say if It Is thy will that
this maiden become a faithful Palad
Ist In thy service." This the Count In
toned In a solemn voice.
From somewhere In the roof came
the answer In hollow reverberating
tones:
"It Is my will."
"Then come, thou art mine," said the
Count, as with outstretched arms he
aini
Solver of
NELiFON.
advanced toward Thaida. She stood dis
dainfully erect as he neared her and I
tr?mbled to see such loveliness pro
faned by his unholy touch.
His arms were just about to fold her
In their embrace when my straining
eyes saw a livid green flash strike
from the whiteness of her throat. Full
upon the forehead of the Count It
hurtled. I saw him throw out his arms
wildly as if trying to fight It off. But
there It clung, a writhing, glistening
streak of green.
The Count tottered. His face and
hands began to turn to the sickly shade
of tarnished brass. With a great cry
he reeled headlong.
Leaping over the prostrate form,
Thaida flew like a deer. I heard the
bar of Clarke's prison house fall. Then
the door of mine swung open. In the '
twinkling of an eye we were behind
those little steel cages. Thaida between
us. At that instant the lights went out
and we were In styglan darkness.
At the end of the hall we heard the
hurrying of many feet and the moans
of men In terror of an awful death. Al
most mechanically we drew our weap
ons and began to empty four automat
ics Into the blackness ahead. I do not
know whether or not any of our shots
took effect. I heard no cries. When
we stopped to reload and the rever
berations of the fusllade had died away .
In the recedes of the roof all was still.
"To the boat," whispered Clarke.
We picked up the now fainting
Thaida, dashed through the aura of
flame and down the corridor, now In
utter darkness. The door barred for
a moment our progress, but Clarke's
fingers soon found the bolt.
"The outer guard." he whispered. "It
is hard, but we must kill him." We had
not encountered him In the corridor. We
threw open the door and stood with
weapons ready. It was daylight and the
sun was already high in the east. I
looked at my watch. It was 9 o'clock.
We had been In that terrible place full
10 hours, yet It had seemed not more than
as many minutes. The guard was no
where to be seen. Had we escaped him
in the corridor, or had he made his way
around the wall through the treacherous
Jungle? We knew not.
Our launch was there. Bloc was true
to his trust. We leaped aboard and laid
the form of Thaida upon the cushioned
seats. The engine was going and her
nose outward and Bloc gave her her head
and away we went. Just then we heard
a roar of anger and the giant outer
guard dashed out of the entrance of the
castle. I could not see If he had a
weapon, but I fired once. I missed, for
he flew back, the door closed and we saw
him no more.
"The launch, the launch! They'll fol-'
low us In the launch. Why didn't ws
sink It?" I shouted.
"Have no fears of ze launch messieurs. ,
She Iss dead. Volla" and Bloc with a
grin of satisfaction held up a spark plug.
Wre had left that terrible Island behind
like a bad dream. We were again out on'
the blue waters of the gulf. Clarke and I.
aft with Thaida, now fully recovered and
wrapped warm In our oil skins, weak
and pale but radiantl.- happy. Bloc the :
faithful at the wheel.
And then, little by little, came the mu
tual explanations.
"No," said Clarke, In answer to my
question, "I had no plan. Without Thai
da's intervention I believe we should
have been lost, although I had not given
up hope. As soon as I read the hiero
glyphics on the door of the count's
stronghold I was sure of what I had for
some time suspected, that the count was
a follower of that strange cult us that has j
flourished sporadically since the seven-
teetith century, that of Diabolism or Lu
clfernlanism. As far as gaining an entry i
into the castle was then concerned my !
course was easy, as you saw. Once in-
side I trusted to quick wit and to the
opportune mistake upon which you can ;
always count on a rascal of de Loup's
kind making to carry us through. The;
trap doors upon which he so cunningly
placed us took me completely by sur
prise. And now Thaida let us have your
story. That should be the most Interest
ing of all. How did you get into the
power of the wolf?"
"It was by a ruse," she began. "I had
no thought of de Loup and had long
since hoped that he had passed out of;
our lives, when I was summoned by a
false letter on board the Magellan In
New York harbor. Once there I was
seized and locked 1n a cabin. We were i
under way and I knew not where we:
were going. I raved and cried and at
last a steward came and peeped In at the:
door. At sight of me he fled. By de-
grees I learned that I was supposed to
be Insane and on the way to a sanlta-1
rlum In the South In charge of my:
brother. At last, peeping through the
blind of my port. I saw a familiar figure!
pass along the promenade deck. It was'
de Loup. Then I ceased to rave and set!
my wits to work. De Loup came at last
and I was allowed my liberty, but always i
under his watchful eye. He did not seek,
to force his attentions upon me when I!
was on deck. The passengers. Influenced:
hy his story of insanity, shunned me. !
Only my stewardess believed in me. How
to get word to you was my whole waking)
thought. There was the wireless but my
every move was watched: no writing ma--terlals
were allowed within my reach.
The stewardess could I trust her? i!
would try. '
"We were sitting In the ladies' cab-:
in. I was watching the waves da'hing;j
over her bows. De Loup sat watch-,
Ing me. Writing materials were on:
the desk beside my elbow, but I dared
not even look at them for fear of arous.!
Ing his suspicions. Then suddenly Ii
looked up. He was dozing. I snatched
a pen and wrote your address and
three words of the message. Then hej
roused and I had only time to snatch:
the paper and conceal It in my dress!
before his sharp eyes were again upon
me. I would send It anyway. I knew;
your intultiv wit would make some-;
thing of It. I entrusted It to the
stewardess. Fortunately they had left'
me my money. I told her It was a'
cypher and she swore to give It to the
wireless operator In his little rookery
on the upper deck. That was In the
morning. In the afternoon I again had
a chance to write a few words when
I was again stopped by de Loup's eye.
I again went to my cabin, and, call
ing the stewardess, sent It to the same
address. I had one more chance to
write. But when It came to telling i
you where to find me I suddenly re
membered that I did not know. I sent
the dispatch anyway. I had no more
chance to write. I believe that de
Loup already Buspected. I now think
he knew it all the time and was anx
ious that I lure you on. for the same
day he told me that our destination
was near New Orleans. I still hoped
for a chance to get you a word, but all
the time I telepathed those two words
to you with all the intensity of my
being."
Woman-like she had omitted that
part we were most anxious to hear,
the cause of the death of the wolf.
"Oh, yes," she continued. "But. the
blow that struck him I had reserved
for .myself when all else had failed.
We were on the launch going up the
narrow harbor of the island. I was
(Concluded on race U.)