Evening star., 1928-04-02
The Devils Mantle
A MYSTERY STORY.
By FRANK L. PACKARD
Cnrx4xh 1897
By FRANK L. PACK

two of them come directly here to me
they can slip in through the window.
The others, of course, must guard the
| outside OF the house, so that when we
spring the trap there will be no escape
anywhere. All that counts is speed and
silence. If Rand or Lahat Khan get no
warning. the rest will be child's play"
"But-why are you staying. Peter?"
she asked TREMENDOUSLY. IF the plan
works out they would be caught
whether you remained here or not.
You-you are holding something back.
Why are you staying here?"
Against the thousandth chance that
for some reason or other they might
come into this room and find the panel
open and. with their suspicious aroused,
take alarm" Peter answered and smiled
at her reaSSuringly again.
And then?" she breathed anxiously.
And then" said Peter. 'in the cave.
at the end of it, especially where 1t is
so narrow and there are so many turn
ingS. it would not be very difficult to
hold them back until your men could
take them in the rear"
Her voice broke with a little sob.
'I will go, Peter! But am afraid
terribly. terribly afraid for you," she
Said-and suddenly her arms were
about his neck and she lifted her lips
to his and kissed him-and then, turn
ing quickly away. she stepped out over
| the window sill and was gone.
| Peter swept his hands across his
! eyes-for somehow there was mist be-
fore them and she seemed to have van
| iShed from his sight. No, he could see
her now-but just glimpse of her--a
! glimpse of a slim figure like some
nymph in the moonlight running swift
ly--and then she had disappeared be-
hind the fringe of trees.
| For a moment more Peter stood there
| notionleSS. then he stole cautiously
back across the room and took up his
| position just in front of the open panel
that led into the cave. From here he
could still command view of both the
window and the door of the room from
which the voices of Rand and Lahat
Khan still reached him.
The thouSandth chance! He shook
his head grimly. It had served to re-
assure Marion-that was all. He was
not at all sure it was an even chance
that the men from the Isis would get
| into the house without being discov-
ered-the mere kicking of q pebble as
one of them came along. for instance,
| might upset 1t all. and long before they
! came either Rand or Lahat Khan, for
some reason or other, or for no valid
reason at all. might easily step into
this room-and the open panel was here
for them to see The thousandth
chance! Well, perhaps! So much the
better il it werel He was sure of only
one thing-that while he lived neither
of the two would get back through the
passage TO join their men in the cav
ern or on the brig!
If only that revolver hadn't been
| LOST II he even had a weapon of any
sort now! He looked around him.
Many things, queer and fantastic deco
rated the wallS-and the moonlight
made them look queerer still. A little
to one side and well above his head was
cluster Of what he took to be blow.
pipes. and hanging from the center of
the cluster was what looked like a ma
tive club. He reached up. and finding
that the club was merely suspended
from peg By thong fastened to the
handle, he took 1t down. 1t was not q
weapon TO be despisedl He balanced 1t
In his hand. 1t was short-handled. and
the head Of the thing. huge knob Of
gnarled wood. was heavily weighted
The minutes pasSed-fve-ten-
| teen of them. Surely as many as that
perhaps morei 1t seemed hours since
Marion had gone out through that win
dow there. Had she been able TO find
| the boat? Had she been obliged TO
swim? She must have reached the Fsis.l
| long ago. They would be on their way
back now-they even ought 10 be here
by this time.
Constantly he heard the voices from
the other room-sometimes they were
raised as in heated discussion. At times
he heard one Of the two, Rand prob
ably, pacing up and down the floor with
| quick. nervous strides-and at such mo-
ments he crouched low. keeping the
glass cases between him and the lighted
| doorway.
He tried to analyze his own feelings
and succeeded only in inducing tumult
in his mind. He was free-free now!
The past was like some evil dream
from which he had awakened 10 find
love and Marion, whereas, In the dream
again and again, most utterly he had
lost her. But she was his now and the
future Why did his brain riot so?
What was this other thing that kept
thrusting itself upon him as though it
were some ugly entity out of the dream
itself? All, yeSi He felt the blood
leave his face and strange trembling
come into his hands. Randl Well, Rand
would not escape. Rand would
Peter barely suppressed cry.
They were coming now, coming from
the Isis! His eyes, straining through
the window, could make out a number
OF forms emerging from the fringe OF
trees. and, spreading out fanwise, begin
to run toward the house. The thou
sadth chance had not materialized!
The thousandth--
Rands voice came with a grumbling
oath, as the door Of the other room
was flung suddenly and impatiently
open, and Rand. with Lafat Khan be-
side him stepped out over the threshold.
Continued in Tomorrow's Starr