Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-24
CHAPTER VII
A Dator Of the First.born

II
Il remained motionlcss, rlaring into each
others eyes. Then grim smile curled
.he handsome lips above me as an ebony
hand came slowly in sight from above the
euge of the deck and the cold eye of a re-
'otver sought the centre Of my forehead.
simultaneously my free hand shot out
Ior tne black throat Just within reach and
Ine ebony finger frightened on the trigger
Ihe pirates kissing, "Die, cursed thern l'
o,,,s.,i T"s nan cnoked in his windpipe by my
clutchlng fingers.
The trigger fell with futile click upon
an empty chamber.
Before he could fire again 1 had pulled
MN so far over the edge of the deck that
he was forced to drop his firearm and clutch
the rail with both hands
MY grasp upon his throat effectually pre-
vented any outcry, and so we struggled in
grim silence; he to tear away from my
mold L to drag him over to his death.
HIS face was taking on a livid hue; his
eyes were bulgng from their sockets. It
was evident to him that he soon must die
unless he tore loose from the steel fingers
that were choking the life from him.
with final effort he threw himself far
| ther back upon the deck, at the same In
stant releasing his hold upon the rail to
| tear frantically with both hands at my
fingers In an effort to drag them from his
| throat
That little second was all that awaited.
| 'itil Ollc mighty downward surge L SweDt
him clear of the deck His falling body
came near to tearing me from the frail
| hold that my single free hand had upon the
anchor chain and plunging me with him
to the waters of the sea below.
| did not rellnqush my grasp upon him,
| however; for l knew that a single shrielk
| from those lips as he hurtled to his death
| IN the silent waters of the sea- would bring
his comrades from above to avenge him
Instead, held grimly to him, choking,
1 n1T
dragged me lower and lower toward the end
| of the chain
Gradually his contortions became spas
| modic, lessening by degrees until they
ceased entirely. Then I released my hold
upon MIN, and In an instant he was swal-
| lowed by the black shadows far below
| Again climbed to the ships rail This
time succeeded in raising my eyes to the
| level OF the deck, where 1 could take a
careful survey of the conditions immedi-
ately confronting me.
The nearer moon had passed below the
| horizon, but the effulgence of the farther
| satellite bathed the deck of the cruiser
| bringing into sharp relief the bodies of six
or eight black men sprawled about in
| sleep.
Huddled close to the base of a randi
iire gun was d young white girl securely
| bound Her eyes were widespread in an
expression of Mortified anticipation and
| rXed directly upon me as I came in sight
| above the edge. of the deck
Unutterable relief instantly filed them
as they fell upon the mystic jewel which
| sparkled in the centre of my stolen head
| piece. She did not speak. Instead her
| eyes warned me to beware the sleeping
| figures that surrounded her Noiselessly I
gained the deck. The girl nodded to me
to approach her. AS l bent low she whis-
pered to me to release her
I can aid you" she said "and you will
need all the aid available when they
awaken"
Some of them will awaken in Korus,"
I replied, smiling.
She caught the meaning of my words.
and the cruelty of her answering smile
Mortified me. One is not astonished by
cruelty in n hideous face but when II
touches the features of goddess, the con-
trast is appalling.
Quickly released her
Give me n revolver" she whispered
Il can use that upon those your sword
does not silence In time"
did as she bade. Then turned toward
the distasteful work that lay before me-
This was no time for fine compunctions.
nor for chivalry that these cruel demons
would neither appreciate nor reciprocate
.Stealthily approached the nearest sleep
err When he awoke, he was well on his
journey to the bosom of Korus. His pierre
ing Shrek as consciousness returned to him
came family up to us from the black
depths beneath
The second awoke as I touched him +;
and though 1 succeeded In hurting him
from the cruisers deck, his wild cry of
alarm brought the remaining pirates to
their feet. There were five of them
AS they rose the girls revolver spoke in
sharp staccato, and one sank back to the
deck again to rise more.
The others rushed madly upon me with
drawn swords The girl evidently dared
not fire for fear of woundng me, but
saw her sneak stealthily and catlilSe toward
the flank of the attackers. Then they were
on me.
For few minutes I experienced some of
the hottest fighting I had ever passed
through The quarters were too small for
footwork. 1t was stand your ground and
give and take.
At first took considerably more than I
gave, but presently l got beneath one fell
lows guard and had the satisfaction of |
seeing him collapse upon the deck.
The others redoubled their efforts. The |
crashing of their blades upon mine raised |
a terrific din that might have been heard |
for miles through the silent night Sparks |
flew as steel smote steel and then there |
was the dull and sickening sound of a shoul-
der-bone parting beneath the keen edge OF
my Martian sword.
Three now faced me, but the girl was /
working her way to point that would
soon permit her 10 reduce the number by |
one at least Then things happened with /
comprehend even now all that took place
in that brief instant
The three rushed me with the evident
nurpose of forcing me back the few steps
mat would carry my body over the rail into
the void below. At the same instant the
girl fired and my sword-arm made two
moves ~
one man dropped with a bullet in his
brain: a sword flew clatterlng across the
deck and dropped over the edge beyond as
I disarned one of my opponents, and the
third went down with my blade buried to
ths hilt in his breast and three feet OF 1t
nrotrudIng from his back, and, falling
tyranched the sword from my grasp.
DIsarmed myself, now faced my remain
,,a, Soeman whose own sword lay some-
where thousands of feet below us. lost in
the lost sea.
THE new conditions seemed to please my
.d-,arsarv. for a smile of satisfaction barred
his cleaning teeth as he rushed at me bare
handed. The great muscles which rolled
beneath his glossy black hide evidently
assured him that here was easy prey not
worth the trouble OF drawing the dagger