The evening world. Newspaper, December 8, 1915, Page 19

The Evenin PeVvessvvessveses: (Woprright, the Frenk A, Munsey ©o,) RYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING CHAPTERS. , Mason discovers secret of ig | W Inanttnate objects, je gore to an isl ° Seva Coat ites and | physical ith eke! Fe Nery ih jalay chief, CHAPTER V. (Continned.) Counter-Currents. HAVE seen,” replied Badu- dreen, “Prof. Maxon intends to wed one of these to his daughter,” Von Horn con- jhe loves me and we wish tinued. to escape—can I rely on you and your men to ald us? There is a chest in the workshop which we must take along too, and I can assure you that you will be well rewarded for your work, We intend merely to leave Prot. Maxon here with the creatures he bas created.” Bududrem could scarce repress a emile, it was indeed too splendid to be true. “It will be perilous work, captain,” he answered. “Wo shall be hanged if we are caught. “There will be no danger of that, Uududreen, for there will be no one to divulge our secret.” “Prof. Maxon,” urged the Malay, “Some day hoe will escape from the j#tand. Then we shall all hang.” “He will never escape,” replied Von Horn. “His creatures will see to that. ‘They are already commencing to real- ize the crima he has committed Against them; once they are fully . roused, there will be no safety for any of us, If you wish to leave the island at all it will be best for you to accept my proposal and leave while your head yet remains upon your shoulders. “Were we to suggest to the profes- eor that he leave now, he would not only refuse, but he would take steps to make it impossible for any of us to leave, even to sinking the Ithaca. The man is mad, quite mad, Bududreen, We cannot longer jeopardize our own throats merely to humor his criminal whims.” The Malay was thinking fast. Could Von Horn have guessed what thoughts raced through that barbar- ous brain he would have wished him- #elf safely housed in the German Prison where he belonged. “When do you wish to sail?” asked mlay. 0 ; “To-nigh and together plans. An hour later the second mate with six men disappeared into the jungle toward the harbor, They, with th taree on watch, were to get the vessel ip readiness for immediate departure. After the evening meal Von Horn sat on the veranda with Virginia, un- Ul the professor came from the work- shop to retire for the night. As he passed them he stopped for a word with Von Horn, taking him aside out OL the girl's hearing, “Have you noticed anything pecu- Mar in the actions of Number Thir- teen?" asked the older man, “He was @ullen and morose this evening. At a there was a strange light in bia ¢.g8 as he looked at me. Can it be possible that after all, his brain is defective? It would be terrible. My , Work would have gone for naught, for Tan see no way In which I can im- be 7 i) go and have a talk with him later,” said Von Horn, “so if you hear us moving about in the work- shop, or even out here in the cam- pong, think nothing of it. I may take him for a long walk.” “It is hardly possible that the hard study and close confinement to that IRtle building have been too severe upon his brain and nerves, A long walk each evening may bring him around all righ! plendid—splendid,” replied the rofessor. “You may be quite right. it by all means, my dear doctor,” and there was a little touch of the o@i, friendly, sane tone which had been so long missing, that almost caused Von Hot to feel a trace 9! compunction for the act of disloyalty that he ‘as on the verge of perpe- trating. replied the German; they matured their The girl readily acquies.ed In the” ‘plan, 40d a moment later found them strolling through the clearing toward the southert end of the camp. In the dark shadows of the gateway leading to the men's inclosure a fig- ure crouched. The gir! did not see it, but as they came opposite it Von Horn coughed twica and then the two passe on towat the ec se of the jungle. CHAPTER VI. The Battle in the Bungalow. HE Raja Muda Saffir, tiring of the excuses and delays which Bududreen interposed to postpone the fulfilmeat . of his agreement, whereby he was to deliver into the hands of the Raja a certain beautiful maiden, cided at last to act upon his own tnitiative, ‘The truth of the matter was that be es come to suspect the motives of Che first mate of the Ithaca, and not ‘a desire to possess the girl for himself. So it was that he second mate of the Ithaca with Ms six men waded down the bed of the little stream toward the harbor and the ship, a fleet bf ten war proas manned ‘by over five hundred fierce Dyaks and commanded by Muda Saffir himself, pulled cautiously into the little co’ and landed but a quarter of a mile from camp. f turb the othe: At the same moment Von Horn was leading Virginia Maxon further and further from the north campong where resistance, if there was to bs any, would be most likely to occur. At his superior’s cough, Bududreen had signailed silently to the men within the inclosure, and a moment later lascars crept stealthily to Als ald Tho momént that Von Horn and the girl were entirely concenled by the darkness the seven moved cau- tlously along the shadow of the pall- ende toward the north campon: There was murder in the several of them, and lust in the hearts of all. There was no sin; one would not betray his best friend for a handful of silver, nor any but was hoping and scheming to the end that he might alone pos- seas both the cheat and the girl. In the breast of Bududreen was the hope that he had planted enough of superstitious terror in their hearts to make the sight of the supposed au- thor of their imagined wrongs suffi- cient provocation for his murder, For Bududreen was too sly to give the order for the killing of a white man--the arm of the white man's law was too long—but he felt that he would rest easier were he to leave the island with the knowledge that only a dead man remained behind with the secret of his perfidy. While these events were travepiring Number Thirteen was pacing rest- lessly back and forth the length of the workshop. But a short time before he had had his author—the author of his misery— within the four walls of his prison, and yet he had not ,wreaked the Vengeance that was in“bis heart. Twice he had been on the point of springing upon the man, but both times the other's eyes had met his and something which he was not able to comprehend had stayed him. No that the other had gone and he w: atone, contemplation of the hideo wrong that had been done him loosed again the flood-gates of his rage. ‘The thought that ho had been made by this man+ ade in the semblance of a buman being—yet denied by the manner of his creation a place aynong the lowest of nature's crea- tures, filled him wrth fury. Yet it was not this thought that drove him to the verge of madness, It was the knowledge, suggested by Von Horn, that Virginia Maxon would look upon him fn horror, as @ jue and leethsome monstros- s of cupidity and ty. He had no standard and no expe- rience whereby he might classify his sentiments toward this wonderful creature. All he knew was that his Ife would be complete, could near her always—seé her and with her daily, He had thou her constantly since those delicto moments that he had held ber in his arms. Again and again he experienced in ratrospection the exquisite thrill that had run through every fibre of his being at sight of her averted eyes and flushed face. And the more he let his mind dwell upon the wander- ful happiness that waa denied him because of his origin, the greater became his wrath against bis creator. It was quite dark without. The door leading to Professor Max- on’s campong, left unlatched earlier in the evening hy Von Horn for sin- ister motives of his own, still unbarred through @ fatal coincidence of forgetfulness on the part of the professor, Number Thirteen approached this door. Ho laid his hand upon she knob. A moment IRter he was moving noiselessly across the campong to- ward the house in which Professor Maxon lay sleeping, while at the south gate Bududreen and his six cut-throats crept cautiously. within and slunk in the dense shadows of tha palisade toward the workshop where lay the heavy chest of their desire. At the sama instant Muda Saffir, with fifty of his head-hunting Dyaks, emerged from the jungle east of the camp, bent on discovering the whore- abouts of the girl and bearing her away to his court far within the jungle fastness of his Borneo princi- ality. PNumber Thirteen reached the ve- randa of the house and peered through the window into the living- room, where an ofl lamp, turned low, Gimly Hghted the interior, which he saw wag unoccupied. Golng to the door he purhed it open and entered tment. ey was Bull within, He listened in- tently for some slight sound which might lead him to the viotim he sought or warn him from the apart- ment of the girl or that of Von Horn—his business was with Profes- sor Maxon. He did not wish to dis- whom ho believed to be sleeping somewhere within the structure—a low, rambling bungalow of eight rooms. ‘Cautiously he Spproached one of the four doors which opened from the living-room, Gently he turned the knob and pushed the door ajar. The interior of the apartment be- yond was in inky darkness, but Number Thirteen’s greatest fear was that he might have stumbled upon the sleeping room of Virginia Maxon, and that if she were to discover him there not only would she be fright- ened, but her crieg would alarm the other inmates of the dweiling, ‘The thought of the horror that his presence would rouse within her—the knowledge that she would look upon him as a terrifying monstrosity added new fuel to the fires of hate that raged In his Borer against the who had created him, maith elenchod fists and vy kere | we the great, soulless giant move phils the dark chamber with the nolselossntss of a tiger, Feeling be- foro him with hands and feet he made the cireult of the room before he reached the bed. Scarce breathing, He leaned over and groped across the covers with his fin- gers in search of his prey. The bed was empty, With the disgovery came @ sudden nervous reaction that sent him Into a cold sweat, ‘Weakly, he seated himself upon the edge of the bed, Had his fingers found the throat of Prof. Maxon be- neath the cayerlet they would never have released their hold until life had forever left the body of the scientist; but now that the highest tide of t young man's hatred had come and gone, he found himself assailed by doubts, be course, World Daily Magazine MONTGOMERY GAPE Se asa. ‘6 ~ AGAING ‘vi GLAD YOU_FOLKS BUT WE CANT GIVE YOO | MucH TO EAT=- ER “Yoo SEE-THIS 1S OUR MAIDS AFTERNOON Ore? ‘Copyright, 1915, Prese Publishing Co, Ov.'¥, World» Suddenly he recalled the fact that the man whpse If sought was the father of the beautiful creature he dored, Perhaps she loved him and would be unhappy were he taken away from her. Number Thirteen did not know, of but the Idea obtruded itgelf, and bad sufficient weight to cau him to remain seated upon the edge of the bed, meditating upon the act he contemplated, He had by no means given up the id of killing Prof. but now there were doubts cles which had not been manifest before, His standards of right and wrong were hardly formed, from the brief attempts of Professor Maxon and Von Horn to inculcate proper moral per- ceptions in @ mind entirely devoid of hereditary inclinations toward either good or bad, yet he realized one thing most perfectly—that to be a soulless thing Was to be damned in the esti- mation of Virginia Maxon, and it now occurred to him that to kill her father would be the act of @ soulless being. It was this thought more than a other that caused him to pause in the pursult of his reveitge, since he knew that the act he contemplated would brand him the very thing he most Wished not to be. At length, however, he slowly com- prehended that no act of his would change the hideous fact of his origin —that nothing would make him ceptable in her eyes, and with a shake of his head he rose and stepped to- ward the living-room to continue his Search for the professor, In the workshop Bududreen and his men bad easily located the treasur chest. Dragging it into the north campong, the Malay was about to congratulate himself upon the ease with which the theft had been ac- complished when one of his fellows declared his intention of going to the house for the purpose of despatching Prof. Maxon, lest the influence of his evil eye should overtdke them with some terrible curse when the loss of the chest should be discovered While this met fully with Budu- Green's plans, he urged the man against any such act that he might have witnesses to prove that he not only had no hand in the crime but had exerted his guthority to prevent it; but when two of the men sep- arated theimselves from the party and crept toward the bungalow no force was interposed to stop them. ‘The moon had risen now, so that from the dark shadows of the paltsade Muda Saffir and his savages watched the party with Bududreen squatting about the heavy chest, and saw the two who crept toward the house, To Muda Saffir's evil mind there Was but one explanation, Bududreen had discovered a rich treasure, and having stolen that had despatched Ewe of his men to bring him the girl also, Rajah Muda Safir was furlous, In whispers he despatched a half dozen A) of his Dyaks back beneath the sha- dow of the palisade to the opposite side of the bungalow where they were to enter the building, killing ali with- in except the girl, whom they were to carry straight to the beach and the war proas, Then, with the balance of his horde, he crept along In the darkness until opposite Bududreen and the watchers about the chest. Just as the two who crept toward the bungalow reached it, Muda Saffir gave the wont for the attack upon the Malays and lascars who guarded the treasure, With savage yells they dashed upon the unsuspecting men, Parangs and spears glistened tn the moonlight There was a brief and bloody encoun- ter, for the cowardly Bududreen and his equally cowardly crew had had no alternative but to fight, so suddenly had the foe fallen upon them, In a moment the savage Borneo head-hunters had added five grisly trophies to their record, and Budud- reen and another were racing madly @ toward the jungle beyond the cam- pong. As Number Thirteen rose to con- tinue his search for Prof. Maxon his { quick ear caught the whuffling of bare feet upon the veranda. As ho paused to listen there broke suddenly upon the still night the hideous war- cries of the Dyaks, and the screams and shrieks of their frightened vic- tims tn the campong without. Almost simultaneously Prof. Maxon and Sing rushed Into the living room to ascertain the cause of the wild alarm, while at the same instant Bududreen’s assassins sprang throu, the door with upraised krisses, to almost immediately followed by Muda Saffir's six Dyaks brandishing their long spears and wicked» parangs, In instant the little room was filled with howling, fighting men, The Dyaks, whose orders as well a inclinations incited them to a general massacre, fell first upon Bududreen's lascarms, who, cornered in the small room, fought like demons for their lives, so that when the Dyaks had overcome them two of their own num- ber lay dead beside the bodits of Bu- dudreen's henchinen, Sing and Prof. Maxon the doorway, to the pro x's room, gazing upon’ the scene of carnage in surprise and consternation, The sei- entist was unarmed, but Sing’ held a long, wicked-looking revolver for any contingency, It was evident that the Celestial was no stranger to the use of his deadly weapon, nor to the moments of extreme and sudden peril which demanded its use, for he seemed no more perturbed than had he been but hanging out his weekly wash, As Number Thirteen watched the two men from the dark shadows of the room in which he stood, he saw that both were calm—the Chinaman with the calmness of perfect courage the other through lack of full un- derstanding of fhe grave danger which menaced him, i the eyes of the latter shone @ strange gleam—it was the wild light of insanity that the sudden nervous shock of the attack had brought to a premature culmina- tion. Now the four remaining Dyaks were advancing upon the two men, Sing levelled his revolver and fired the foremost, and at the same in- stant Prof, Maxon, with @ shrill, maniacal scream, launched himself full upon a second, Number Thirteen saw the blood spurt from @ superficial wound in the shoulder of the fellow who received Sing’s bullet, but except for eliciting a how! of rage the missile had no im- mediate effect. Then Sing pulled the trigger again and again, but the cylinder would not revolve, and the hammer fell futilely upon the empty cartridge. two of the head-hunters closed upon him the brave Chinaman clubbed his weapon and went down beneath them, beating madly at the brown skull The’ man with whom Prof. Max- on had grappled had no opportunity to use his weapons, for the crazed man held him close with one encircling arm while he tore and struck at him with his free hand, The fourth Dyak danced around the two with raised arang, watching for an opening that he might deliver a silenctyg blow upon the white man’s skull, The great odds against the two men ~-their bravery in the face of death— their grave danger—and, last and «reatest, the fact that one was the dnesday, December 8. VTRLL YA THA TABLE: AIN'T LEVEL! DIVE AN BASY SHOT THAT iy tT HADDA BEBN LEvEL! father of the beautiful creature he worshipped, wrought a sudden chang: in Number Thirteen, In ap instant he forgot that he had come here to kill the white-haired man, and with a bound stood in the centre of the room—an unarmed giant towering above the battling four, The parang of the Dyak who sought Prof. Maxon's life was already falling a8 4 mighty band grasped the wrist of the head-hunter, but even then It Was too late to more than lessen the welght of the blow, and the sharp edge of the blade bit deep into the forehead of the white man, As he sank to hia knees his other antagonist freed an arm from the embrace which had pimioned it to his aide, but before he could deal the professor a blow with the #bort knife that up to now he had been unable to use, Number Thirteen had hurled his man across the room and was upon him who menaced the scientist. ‘Tearing him loose from his prey, he raised him far above his head and threw him heavily agninst the oppo- site wall; then he turned his atten- tion toward Sing's assailants, All that had so far saved the Chinaman from death was the fact that the two savages were each #0 anxious tOgsecure his head for the veranda rafters of his own particular long-house that they interfered with one another in the consummation of their common desire, Though battlimg for his life, Sing had not failed to note the advent of the strange young giant, nor the part he had played in succoring the pro- fessor, that it was with a feeling of relief that he saw the newoomer turn his attention toward those who were rapidly reducing the citadel of his own existence. The two Dyaks wif sought the trophy which nature had set upon the Chinaman's shoulders were so busily engaged with their victim that they knew nothing of the presence of Num. ber Thirteen until a mighty hand salzed each by the neck and they were raised bodily from the floor, shaken viciously for an instant, and then hunled to the opposite end of the room upon the bodies of the two who had preceded them, As Sing eame to his feet he found Prof, Maxon lying in @ pool of his own blood, @ groat gash in his fore- head, He saw the white giant standing silently looking down upon the old man, Across the room the four stunned Dyaks were regaining consciousness, Slowly and fearfully they regain their feet, and, seeing that no atten- tion was being pald them, cast a part- ing, terrified look at the mighty crea- ture who had defeated them with his bare bands, and slunk quickly out tnto the darkness of the campong. When they caught up with Rajah Muda Satlir near the beach they nar- rated a fearful tale of fifty terrible white men with whom they had bat- tled valiantly, Killing many before they had been compelled to retreat in the face of terrific odds. They swore that oven then they had only returned because the girl was not tn the house-—-otherwise they should have brought her to their beloved master, as he had directed, Now, Muda Saffir belleved nothing that they said, but he was weil pleased ARE YOU ONE OF THE MANY THOUSAND PEOPLE WHO ARE READING THE EVENING WORLD'S Complete Novel Each Week? If not, you offered to the re: robbing yourself of the rivhest fiction treat ever re of a newspaper, The Evening World, every week, prints a novel by some famous author, Those novels are issued compie' They are selected with a view And the tremendous success of In Thd Evening World’ series is the foremost work ef such in aix large daily inetalments. iting the tastes of all readers. lan hae long been demonstrated, the pl “COMPLETE NOVEL EACH WEEK" “best-seller” authors as Robert W, Chambers, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Rupert Hughes, James Oliver Cur- wood, Morgan Robertson, Margaret Widdemer, George Randolph Chee- ter, Louis Joseph Vance, Edgar Rice Burroughs and many others of equal celebrity, THINK VO HAVE MISSAD LIKE AINT THE RAUL OF THE CAR<THEE. with the great treasure which had so unexpectedly fallen into his handa, and he decided to make quite sure of that by transporting it to his own Jand—later he could return for t rl. So the ten war-proas of the Mala; pulled quietly out of the little cov upon the east side of the island, and, bending their way toward the south, circled its southern extremity and bore away for Borneo. In the bungalow within the north campong Sing and Number Thirteen had lifted Prof. Maxon to his bed, and the Chinaman was engaged in bathing and bandaging the wound that had left the older man uncon- se ne white giant stood beside him, watching his every move, He waa trying to understand why sometimes men killed one another and again de- fended and nursed. He was curio’ as to the cause of his own sudden change in sentiment toward Prof, Maxon, At last he gave the problem up as beyond his powers of solution, and at Sing’s command sot about the task of helping to nurse the man whom he considered the author of his un- happiness, and whom a few short minutes before he had come to kill, As the two worked over the atrick- en man thelr ears were suddenly assailed by a wild commotion from the direction of the workshop. There were sounds’ of battering upon wood, loud growl and roars, mingled with wel shrieks and screams, and tho ane uncanny eibbering of brainless things. Sing looked quickly up at his com- panion. “Wallee matiee he asked. The giant did not answer, An expression of pain crossed his and he shuddered, but not CHAPTER VII. From the Court of Mystery. 8 Von Horn and Virginia Maxon walked slowly be- neath the dense shadows of the jungle the German again renewed his sult, It would pledse him more to have the girl accompany him voluntartly than to be compelled to take her by force; but take her he would one way or another, and that thia very night, for all the plans were made and already under way, "I cannot do it, Dr. von Horn,” eho had sald, “No matter how much danger I may be in here, I cannot desert my father on this lonely isle with only savage lascars and the ter- rible monsters of his own creation surrounding him. “It would be little short of murder for wa to do such @ thing, I cannot see how you, his most trusted Heu- tenant, ean even give an instagt’s consideration to the idea. “And mow that you Insist that his mind is sorely affected, it Is only an added reason why 1’ must remain with hitn to protect him so far as I am able from himself and his enemies.” Von Horn did uation in the acce: put upon the last word, “Tt is because I love you so, ginla,” he hastened to urge in ox tenuation of his suggested disloyalty “I cannot see you sacrificed to his horrible mania. You do not realtso the imminence of your peril “To-morrow Number Thirtean was live beneath the Vir- to have come to same roof with you. You recall Number Oue, whom tre stranger killed as the thing was bearing you away through the fungle? tmagine sleeping in the with such a soulless thing? Eating your three meals a day at the same table with it? Knowing all the thine that in a few short weeks at the most you are destined to be given to the thing as its mate? Jirginia, you must be mad to con- sider for a moment remaining within reach of such a@ terrible peril, by to Singapore with me—it will take but @ few daye—and then be¢ we can return with eome cal man and a couple of Fi and take your father away from t terrible creatures he has created, You will be mine then and safe from the awful fate that now lies back there tn the camp awaiting you. “We can take your father upon @ long trip, where rest and quiet can have an opportunity to restore his en feebled mentality. Come, Virginia! Come with me now. We can go di- rectly to the Ithaca and safety. Say that you will come,” The girl shbok her head, “I do not love you, I am afraid, Dr. von Horn, or I should certainly be moved by your appeal. If you wisi to bring help for my father, I @hall never cease to thank you if you will fo to Singapore and fetch it, but tt la hot necessary that I go. My piace is here—near him,” In the darknens the girl did not seo the change that came over the man's face, but his next words revealed his altered attitude with suMfctent exact. tude to thoroughly arouse her fears, ‘Virginia,” he said, “I love you, and T intend to have you. Nothing on earth can prevent ‘me. When you know me better you will return my love, but now I must risk bétonding you that I may eave you for mys from the monatrous connéction Which your father contemplates for you. If you will not come away from the island with me voluntarily, I consider it my duty to take you away by Von Horn had gone too far. He cursed himeelf inwardly for a fool. Why the devil didn't that villain, Bu- dudreen, come? He should have been along to act his part half an hour before, 'No, Virginia,” eaid the mam, eoft! after a moment's silence; “T roeutd not do that, though my Judgment tella me that I should do ft. You eha remain here if you tnstet, and I shall the be with you to serve and protect you and your father.” The words wore fair, but the £3 could not forget the ugly tone thet tinged his Laggan Mago ng fn § felt that sho would Pr when she found herself safely within the bunga- low once more, “Come,” she said, “It la late, Let tua roturn to camp. Von Horn was about to ly wien he war-cries of Muda Saffir’s as they rushed out upon Bududreen and his companions, came to them distinctly through the tropte night, ‘What AG t in an alarmed tone, “Heaven knows!" replied Von Horn, “Can it be that our men have mu- tinied ?”* * Ho thought the six with Bududreen were carrying out their part in a most realletio manne and a grim emile tinged his hard face. Virginian Maxon turned resolutely toward the at be 3 ust gO there to my father,” she sald, “and eo muct you, Our place is there, God give that we be not too tate!” Before Von Horn could stop her, she turned and ran through the dark. ness of the Jungle in the direction of the eamp. Von Horn dashed after her, hut so dark waa the ni ‘beneath the over- hanging trees, festoons their myriad creepers, that the girl was out of sight in an instant, and upon the soft carpet of the rotth her light footfalls gave back no sound, The German made straight for t camp, but Virginia, unused to Jungle trailing even by day, veered sharply to the left. The sounds which had guid- ed her at first soon died out, the brush became thicker, and presently she realized that she had no concep- tion of the direction of the camp, Coming to a spot where the trees were leas dense and @ Uttle moonlight pred to the ground, sh. paused to and attempt to regain her bear- ings. As she stood Natening for some which might indicate Jb of the camp she de- the nolse of a body approaching through the underbrush, Whether man or beast she could but conjec- ture, and #0 she stood with every nerve taut, waiting the thing that floundered heavily toward her, She hoped it might be Von Horn, but the hideous war-criee which had apprised her of enemies at the en- ampment made her fear that fate might. be directing the footsteps of one of these upon her. Neo and nearer came the sound girl stood poised ready to n the dark face of Bududreen suddenly émerged into the moonlight With a hysterical ery of relief the rir! greeted him. “Oh, Bududreen!” she exclaimed, “what has happened at camp? Where is my father? Is he safe? Tell me!” The Malay could scarce believe the food fortune which had befallen him 80 quickly following the sore affilo- tion of losing the treasure, His evil mind worked quickly, ao that he grasped the full ponsibilities th: were his before the girl had finished her questioning ‘The camp was attacked by Dyaka, Miss Maxon,” he replied. “Many of our men were Iclled, but your father escaped and has gone to the ship. 1 have heen searching for you and Capt. von Horn, Where fs he?* Ie was with mo but a moment ago. When we henrd the cries, at the camp T hastened on to discover what calamity had befallen us—we became separated.” He will be safe,” said Bududreen, “for two of my men are watting to mulde you and the captain to the ship ‘n case you returned to camp before { found you. Come, we wil! hasten on to the harbor. Your father will be worrted if we aro long delayed, and he {* anxious to make sail and escane hefore the Dyaks discover the cation of the Tthaca," The man's story seemed plausible enough to Virginia, though she could not repress a ttle pang ef regret that her father had been willing to go on to the harbor before he knew her fate. However, she explained that by her belief that his mind was unbalanced through constant applica~ tion to his weird obsession. Without demur, then, she turned and accompanied the rascally Malay toward the harbor. At the bank of the little stream which led down to the Ithaca’s berth the m lifted hi to his shoulder and thus bore her the balance of the way to the beach, Here two of his men were awaiting him in one of the ship's boats, and without words they embarked and pulled for the vessel, [ NEXT WEEK'S COMPLETE NOVEL IN THE EVENING WORLD |E THE FIGHTER ry girl, Goath as the only alternative. Once on board, Virginia started im- mediately for her father’s cabin, As she crossed the deck she noticed thrt the ship was ready to sali, and even an descended the companton she heard the rattle of the anchor chain about the capstan. She wondered if Von Horn could be on board, too. It seemed remarkable that ali should have reached the Ithaca so quickly, and equally strange that none was on deck of her own people to welcome her or to command the vessel. To her chagrin #he found her fath- er’s cabin empty, and a moment's hurried Inve: ny disclosed the fact that Von Horn’s was unoccupied as woll, Now her doubts turned quickly to foars. With a little gasp of dsimay at the grim possibilities which surged through her imagination, she ras quickly to the companionway, but above her she saw that the hatch was down and, when sho reached t top, that It was fastened, Futilely ehe buat ween. the heavy planks with her delicate hands, call- ing aloud to Bududreen to release her, but there was no reply, and, with the realization of the hoy of her position, she drop} back to the deck and returned to her stateroom. bit she locked and barricaded the door as best she could, and throw! herself upon the berth, awaited in dry-eyed terror the next blow. that held in store for her. Shortly after Von Horn became sep- arated from Virginia he collided with thé fleeing lasoar who had es- caped the parangs of Muda Saffir's head-hunters at the same time as had Bududreen, So terror-stricken ‘S was the fellow that he had thrown int To him, in the extremity of his the Garman hod'a tough seat wits ir a scul tr him before he could impress u; th follow that he was o tead - herent account ot foe atteck tegetier accoun! a with the statement at he was the only person in cam it ail the others having cen by te oavage horde that overwhelmed It was with difficulty that Von Horn persuaded the man to return with him to the cam f- but he consented to do 20 when Ger with drawn revolver, presented ther they crept back cautioul§:* toward the palisade, not knowing at What momeut liey might come upon the savage enemy that had he Vo Horn believed the laacare story Von Horn the Iaacara story that all had pe: His motive for returning lay prevent Virginia 1 Whatever faults and vices were Cari von Horn's, was not ono of th and it was without ta- stant’s hesitation that he to return to succor the girl he believed tu have returned to camp, though he entertained no acruples regard! the further pursuit of hie dishos in- fentions toward her should he suc- ceed in saving her from her othor enemies. As the two approached the campong quiet seemed to have again fallen about the scene of the recent alarm Mud. ‘fir had passed on toward the cove with the heavy chest and tle scrimmage in the bungalow was over, But Von Horn did not abate his watchfulness as he stole silently with - in the precincts of the north cam- pong, end, bugsing the denser sha: - ows of the palisade, crept toward the hou The dim ight In the living room drew him to one of the windows whig i overlooked the veranda. A_ glance within showed hint Sing and Number Thirteen bending over the body of Prof, Maxon. He noted the handsome face and rfect figure of the young *. He saw the bodies of the as ~ cars and Dyaks. Then he saw Sing and the young man Iift Prof. Maxon tenderly in thelr arms and bear him to his own room. A wa of through th ° wvaw that the soulless thing within was endowed with a kindlier and more noble nature than he himseif possessed, He had planted the seed of hatred and revenge within his un- tutored heart without avail, for he read in the dead bodies of Budu- dreen’s men and the two Dyaks the td of Number Thirteen's defense of the man Von Horn had hoped he would kill, The German wag quite sure now that Virginia Maxon was not within the campong. Either she had be- come confused ‘and lost in the jungle after she left him or had fallen into the hands of the wild horde that had attacked the camp. Convinced of this, there was no ob- stacle to thwart the sudden ny which entered his malign brain, With a single act he could rid himself of the man whom he had come to look upon as a rival, whose physical beauty roused his envy and jealousy; he could remove, in the person of Prof. Maxon, the pareftal obstacte which might ether provent his ob- taining the girl, or make serfous trouble for him in case he took her by force, and at the same time he could transfer to the girl’s possession the fortune which was now her fath- er’s--and he could accomplish ft alt without tainting his own hands with the blood of his victims, As the possibilities o! unfolded before his mind's eye a grim smile curled his thin lips at the thought of the irony of the fate which it entailed for the creator of the hid- eous monsters of the Court of Mys- tery, sf turned awé from the bunge- low and his eye fell upon the trem~ bling lasear who accorapaniet him to the edge of the veranda. must be rid of the fellow tn some —no eye must see him perpetrat: deed he had in mind, A solution quickly occurred to him. he said to ‘and tell those “Hasten to the harbo. the man in a low volce, on board the ship that I shall join them presently. Have all in readi~ neas to sail, I wish to fetch some of my belongings. All within the bun- galow are dead.” No command could have better suited the sailor, Without a word he turned and fled toward the jungle. ) Be Continued.) a eaten eer Sa ye