Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-21

sitting in chairs placed expertly over such trap
doors as the one in front of him.
But it did not happen. The heavy hand of
Tsen Lee fumbled again at the panel The
square of blackneSs was blOtted out by blue
and gold and cherry red once more. The dis
torted figure was drifting backward 1t seemed.
into measureless space, yet no farther than
the end Of the room-the room where the black
table loomed up against the yellow dragon
panel like an enormous coffin; where the black
lockwood chair held out scrawny stiff arms to
its master, and where the cigarette still burned
In the prisoning embrace OF the silver stork
The distant voice spoke again.
1.-THE soothing hand of Shut Hsen Piao begins
to touch my flesh even as 1t has enslaved
yours, oh, honorable and soon-to-be-lamented
guests. The men of my race do not yield to its
mastery as quickly as do those of commoner
and softer tissue In a moment my body too
will sleep as soundly as your own but my mind
will watch with even greater pleasure the
drama for which 1t has been my childish
pleasure to set the stage"
His voice sank away, came back with per-
ceptible effort
You still do not realize how skillfuily the
stage has been set for the play in which you
two who thought to triumph over me shall be
the unwilling actors, and the appreciative
spectator. Do you see my cigarette here? As
the last spark of life goes out in the cigarette,
its death kiss of fire will ignite little silken
cord And this will release q spring that will
let q piece Of floor drop down-the part on
which you oh, honorable guests, are most
unfortunately seated. shall watch you'll and
one other-the girl Loya-will be standing in
the doorway-as the trap-door opens-she will
see you just-before you enter the watery
portals-of the Death -kingdon-"
long gray lozenge Of ash dropped from
the imprisoned cigarette and sprayed across
the feet of the silver stork The slight sound
stirred something in Bruce Norton that had
lain dormant even beneath the wild struggle
Of his inner senses.
In that cigarette there was death--and life
Perhaps 1t would be extinguished. How long
would q cigarette burn thus? Ten minutes?
Twenty?
Then 1t was that Bruce Norton realized,
rather than saw, that his own cigarette, still
burning. had slipped down into the palm Of
his clenched hand. There was no feeling at
first. although he knew that the smoldering
spark must be soaring its way into the flesh.
But suddenly there was prickling sensation
somewhere. remote, yet sharply defined-a
coursing stream of something in his nerves.
nerce contraction that he recognized as pain.
With 1t came wild leaping of hope. II only
the pain could gnaw through the chains that
held him muscle-bound! If he could but move
his fingers! Lift his hand to the gun that
pressed against his thigh
the barrier Of the deadly anesthetc He must
break through He must break through-he
would break through!
His staring eyes were suddenly filled with a
swirling pattern of red spots, that grew into
huge. binding things, whirred, turned black
And then curtain lifted and the room came
into view again, blurred, distorted weaving in
strange, watery fgureS-comprehensio came to
him like the shifting of ice-cold air. He had
blinked! He had broken throughl
NOW In the black, opaque eyes of Tsen Lee
ne saw something gathering there behind the
outward deadnesS-Fear! There was no move
ment, no culver of the heavy lids. But an
electric current shot through Bruce Norton's
body as he senSed 1t. The yellow man was
afraid! The wild surge of hone that rushed
through him beat afresh at the weakening wall
OF aneStheSia.
A MOTHER lozenge of ash fell. Ah but the
tiny wand of nicotine was short now. But.
with the stimulus. something happened to the
raw. pain-racked nerves in Bruce Norton's
hand. The fingers clenched spasmodically,
crushed the burning tip Of the cigarette full
into the palm. The fierce pain shot up into
the numbed recesses of his dull brain and down
again, carrying an impressive command. His
hand opened-consciously this time. The cigar
cite slid down to the floor. The hand came
upward, slowly, Slowly-a weight unbearable,
dragging downward again-no, upward-now it
was near his Side-and the gun!
Fear now stood forth starkly naked in Tsen
Lees staring eyes. He had watched many men
face doom in the ensaving horror of the Shut
Hsen Piao. But never had he seen a man
move when once the powerful anesthetic had
stunned the senses.
He tried to look at the cigarette in the stork's
bill. 1t must be short burned nearly to its
fatal length where it should scar the powder
smeared fuse. But he could not turn his head
His eyes stared at the hand that was creeping
closer and closer to the bulge of something
hidden and deadly-the fingers were fumbling-
they were drawing something out, something
that cleaned with dark metallic menace-the
fingers closed about the butt of the gun-they