Show ann w v r i 1 cilc ell y I 1 AN h 1 n N t t x Y i A f sit SMITH fetid CYRUS TOWNSEND TO BRADY i novelized NOVELl ZED FROM PHOTO PLAY asro tv SYNOPSIS john davis and hawk morgan executors cc utora of the estate of 0 john carr miner disagree over the disposition of the profits of the mine morgan seeking the sold gold and ethel carr carrs a adopted daughter aang ahter for himself and unsuspected by davis whom ethel really loves snakes several sensational attempts upon the life of davis suspicion is diverted to a mysterious hermit they 11 II go to san francisco to ret get rn machinery ery for or the mine there davis miraculously escapes more attempts upon his life morgan conspires with a dock foreman to imprison davis in a diving bell from which he escapes davis ethel morgan and spider are by vengeful hindus EPISODE 41 IN THE OCEANS GRIP the spider john ethel and morgan awakened by the heat and smoke fumes from the blazing brush without the woodland temple of siva opened their eyes to see the grim visage of that god glaring down upon them and seeming to grin as he watched their impotent things beneath the increasing heat beat blasts outside the in of the hindus grew louder rising above the tree tops the emoke amole of the consuming temple rose to the heavens as the outpour outpourings of a living volcano far tar in the distance the trailing Ra seeing this evil agn and find Instinct instinctively lely knowing that it was the place for which he was in search glanced about with despairing eyes his ills own feet would never bear him there hi in time he had bad left the city far behind him and was passing a country house standing before it hitched to the fence paling was a saddled horse and with a grunt of satisfaction he leaped upon the animal and went ment speeding upon his way to the clatter of hoofs and the protesting yells of the steeds steed s owner who had emerged from the building just in time to witness the seeming larceny riding as he seldom had before the indian arrived upon the scene just as the flames were approaching their zenath absorbed in their incan nations tat lons ions and with the roar of the blaze in their ears the hindus remained un conscious of the hoot hoof beats of the steed teed that was charging madly upon them As a bomb bursts upon its mark so did Ra burst upon his unsuspecting audience without the waste of a second he opened fire upon the group before him shallum throwing up his hands reeled back into the arms of two tuo of his companions who lifting him bodily went speeding through the trees with their burden again the great ver ner roared and a second hindu with a yell leaped into the air and fell a moment later however regaining his feet and disappearing in the wake of his fellows having got rid of his enemies the indian ran swiftly around the burning building the fiercely blazing fire before the door made any attempt to en ter by that means unthinkable and his eyes flew upward instantly they light ed d upon the strong limb that overhung the doomed structure and with a leap he secured the lariat that hung at the saddle of his purloined beast to throw it over the limb and mount it was but the work of a d dozen ozen seconds from the branch he peered down through nn an opening in the root roof upon the four tortured victims of the altar A glance told him that not a second was to be lost binding the chandker chief he had bad found about his nose and mouth he drew up the rope and cropped it into the interior of the now blazing building he ile slid down the rope until his feet ested upon the stone altar in the terrible heat the quickest action was mas necessary and jIp slashing shing ethel ethels a bonds apart he raised her to her feet feel As he did the same tor for bohu the girl tore strips from her petticoat which she wet met in a ja jar r of perfumed water which aich tood stood upon the altar then bound it over her face as the indian had projected his own As john arose giddily and covered ills nose and mouth in rhe the hame tame manner manlier he saw Ra standing knife in hand over the still twisting forms of morgan and the spider plainly the ancient one was debating whether he should release them cr im leave them to the mercy of the flames and with a commanding motion of bis his hand davis bade him set them free plainly act ing against his will the red man obeyed and the last of the four vie tims struggled to his feet in the at mo sphere of the place speech was impossible af morgan and bellas were mere themselves john pointed first to tb the tirl and then to the opening in the roof nodding his understanding the indian swarmed the length of the lasso until he gained the limb at an other motion from john the spider followed and a loop was swiftly made to in which the he girl could sit sil before the strength of the four arroa arms above ollie tie was hoisted clear of the inferno ind nd seated in safety at once the rope was as dropped to the remaining two with the fire roaring on all sides and their clothing be beginning a inning to smoke it VOW donld id be but the matter of a minute or two more before life within the place was impossible yet there were two men to make the ascent know ing that the chances were against the last ones ability to withstand the fur nace heat until hla his turn came john signaled morgan togo to go ahead V without waiting any second invitation that party seized the rope and climbed and was hauled from the fiery pit to the breathable air above leaving the two other men upon the limb to haul up davis Ra assisted the girl to the ground where she stood wringing her hands as she implored them to hasten and draw her lover forth morgan flattening out upon the branch dropped the rope to the remaining one and bade him climb at the same time slipping an open knife from his wrist and holding it concealed in the palm of his hand As the lariat fell uncurling before him hirn davis seized it and began hauling himself upward hand over 01 er hand red tongues of flame caressing his limbs as he mounted foot by foot crouching above him upon the limb like a panther above ills victim the t traitor morgan glued his eyes upon the slowly ascending figure ANeaL weakened ened b bv the terrible heat and his hands hot and dry it required every ounce of davis strength to raise his body from out the roaring mass yet little by little he fought bis his way upward until his head and shoulders appeared above abole the opening upon the ground below ethel was mas standing with outstretched arms and at his appearance a glad cry burst from her lips morgan eyes still fastened upon him and hoping every second to see him succumb to the heat and go tumbling back to his leath uttered a savage curse beneath his breath as he lie saw that the other despite bis his terrible handicap was about to gain the limb already the climbing oneas one was but two yards beneath the bough and in a moment more would reach safety were the hawk to send him back into that roaring hell bell he must act both quickly and skillfully and with a cry of encouragement coura gement to the man he hated he extended his arm down the rope as though to lend a helping hand and as john with a look of gratitude raised one arm to grasp the proffered palm morgan pressed the edge of the keen blade to the rope with a cry of despair the betrayed one plunged straight dou down n into the heart of the furnace Paral paralyzed zed by horror nt at the sight athel covered her face with her hands band 9 and stood swaying but unable to move released from the weight of johns body by his ills fall the limb containing the spider and morgan whipped itself sharply upward the spider was thrown headlong to the ground and morgan also dislodged only saved himself from following his victim into the fire by a fortunate clutch of the limb the knife in its release twisted in his hand cutting a gash in his palm then disappeared into the flames below regaining the branch by a desperate effort morgan crawled its length with ith his ills limbs trembling beneath him until he reached the trunk from which he dropped to the ground at the same time the rafters gave way before the gnawing of the fire and fell into the seething pit below with a crash that sent the sparks flying upward in a spout of flame morning found the girl still pros rated and the red man sitting beside her with a face as impressive as though caned from stone the hawk got upon his feet and thrust one hand into his coat pocket he iles a gone and we can con do nothing more we must get ethel away from here as quickly as possible Ra and I 1 will take her back to the th hotel bellas you stay around until the fire Is out and see that nothing else catches keep the indian s horse until everything Is Js safe then come and report what you find all right I 1 returned the spider and Ra acquiescing by a nod they endeavored deavo red to lead the girl nn gling and protesting that she would never leave the place until her lover lovers s body had been recovered she at last broke down and herself to be supported to the van when john was una cut loose by the villainous hawk bank he dropped like a plummet striking one corner of the big center stone of the altar instinctively th owing out his hand he clutched one arm of the flauie and at that wrench rench the idol which was pivoted in the middle swung sung on its balancing point thus revealing a bole into which the body of the man dropped in bis his fall he dragged after him the image of siva which burst into pieces some of the fragments wedging the pivoted stone so that it could not spring back and close the opening john stunned for the moment by the fall presently aroused himself in spec lon tion phoned show ed that he lie was in a rude cellar the roof of which was as upheld by big columns formed of logs boxes were scattered about and an ordinary lantern hung from a peg this he took down doun lighted and began an exploration of the place A few moments search revealed a rough puncheon door at a tar far corner and raising its latch he held his lantern high and gazed ahead an earthen tunnel sloping dew dom rk lay jay before him so this Is how the fakirs fakiri got away with mith the valuable offerings given siva by the god s dupes he murmured closing the door behind him he stepped into the passageway A short distance farther on the tunnel broadened into a shallow cave with broken walls and boulders scattered about aboul here john halted seeing nothing suspicious and becoming aware that a subdued light was as entering the place from the opposite side he again stepped forward before him was an entrance well screened by vines and parting these he peered out at that instant from behind him four hindus rising from their places of concealment where they had dropped as they saw his light coming down dovin the passageway threw themselves upon him hearing their swiftly approaching steps he whirled to meet this new danger but was an instant too late A club in the hand of a herculean oriental fell upon his head with a crash and he fell senseless upon the ground quickly he was bound and this done the giant who had felled him and who was addressed by his companions a as s shere khan motioned with one hand instantly two of the smaller men disappeared returning a moment later with the body of shellum this they deposited d e pos I 1 ted at the side of the fallen one prom from a corner comer of the cave a rude litter was brought and upon this the senseless body of da davis vis was mas placed turban was mas fitted upon his head and the pointed native shoes of the dead hindu drawn upon his feet then draping his body with the tunic so that only the head and feet projected at either end they left him and devoted their attentions to their former companion who mho had perished b before the indians big gun placing johns coat over Shel shellum lurn they carried the corpse to a niche in the wall mail and there left it returning to the unconscious one two seized the front of the improvised litter two to the rear and gravely left the ca cave e not noticing that their bare feet left more or less distinct imprints upon the soft ground left alone in his vigil beside the now smoldering fire the spider eat sat under a tree smoking lazily presently his eyes wandered upward to the limb and as they did so a thought seemed to strike him for putting his pipe aside he be arose shinning up the tree he worked his way m ay out on the limb until he came to where the remnant of the ropo rope still dangled there pausing and looking down followed a moment s reflection he pulled up the fragment of rope and inspected it extending half way through it he saw a cut such as could only have been made by a sharp edged instrument A frown crossed his face I 1 ile lies s lower down than even I 1 thought him he muttered as he let the rope end fall next he looked down into the ruins of the temple the blaze was dying and the top of the altar ashes covered was plainly revealed A second glance showed him the pivoted stone still partly open and he uttered an ercla majiori of astonishment well III I 1 II 11 be hanged if he aint got away again I 1 marveling over his discovery he be descended to the ground cut down a few saplings and began making a sort of bridge which started upward from the ground and ran to the altar top over which the still hot debris was smoking this done he began mounting it cau can tiou piously sly gaining the top of the altar he saw how a part of the arm of the pod god had wedged the pivot and began kicking into the ashes at the same time saying well you were some good after all old man next he tested the pivot and found it firm and being satisfied that it would not close upon him and make him a prisoner be he dropped into the cellar as john had done the place was still dimly lighted by the glow from above and a short search discovered to him a fragment of candle this he lighted and proceeded down the pas passageway gageway following in the tracks of davis he ile arrived at the cave and proceeded to search the same soon later running across the dead body of shellum Shel luin which was vias covered e by john a coat the coat he at once recognized looking at the torn and footprint marked floor he raw saw the heavy imprints of john a s shoes mingled N with ith the tracks of the bare feet of the natives further exploration revealing where the hindus had cut polea poles and made a litter lie he began soliloquizing davis fell through the altar and came here he ile was attacked by the hindus and put up a big fight but they made him a prisoner put come some of the dead mans clothes on him and took him away now I 1 wonder why not being able to solve the propose tion further he retraced his steps climbed out of the altar and rode away sleeting meeting a man upon the road the spider stopped him seen any hindus passing this way partner he asked as he reined in bis his horse the man nodded yep I 1 seen four he athena athens carrying another man on some poles about a mile ahead where the big cluster of trees grows by the cross roads on rode the spider to the mackenzie hotel throwing open the door of the apartment and looking in ethel still nearly prostrated by grief was lying on a couch with morgan roughly trying to console her and Ra sitting silently in a corner at the spiders entrance all started to their feet the girl first of all bellas approached pro ached her with a smile got good news nes tor for you miss mime davis t die in the fire he said she threw up her bands hands sobbing sobbing crying hysterically oh thank god I 1 thank god I 1 what do you mean demanded morgan a devil of rage lu in his heart at this news the spider began explaining I 1 4 3 z V N X 1 A A 1 VV 17 2 IX A K ak aa A V peered through an opening in the roof upon the four tortured victims finally I 1 reached a cave and saw evidences of hla his having been attacked there and captured my guess Is that the hindus jumped him knocked him out put |