| Show N XV i NEE SEL ROHMER y SAX LA U G 0 W 5 S by SAX ROHMER W N U SERVICE CHAPTER X continued 15 burned up by impatience not daring to speculate about elleen eileen he walked slowly toward the northern extremity of tits his patrol and a curious fact obtruded itself all the eunuchs had disappeared I 1 and now coming in night bight of the wall which marked the boundary on the north lie he heard again dimly that babel of many tongues but bul outside in the distant tree bor dered street which led down to the town at one point an old tree overhung the great wall hali halg ran to it mounted to the lowermost lower most branches climbed higher and could see eee over the wall A straggling procession was winding down the street towards the port below I 1 the tha eunuchs he could identify by their liv erles eries but there were many others who wore were no distinguishing dress dresa there had been an exodus from the great houe could hatake he take advantage of it along a path bordered by almond trees treca he walked above everything he must keep cool always elleen eileen came into the foreground but he knew and his conscience cried out that even greater stakes were being played for A state of the wildest excitement prevailed aboard aboard the wallaroo what had happened had war suddenly been declared the underwater der water craft bore no distinguishing number and flew no flag then a smartly dressed man wearing a tarbush had come oft off in her boat up in the captains room aswall pasha stood by the desk smiling ile he had boarded the wallaroo alone and apparently unarmed leaving one man a recognized pugilist on duty at the ladder head there Ther eWas was something terrifying in the egyptians smiling audacity captain petersons gray face was very grim 1 I carry three hundred passengers said he a hondred and eighty of them bliem women and children or ort by P 0 d dl I 1 id take you at your word the egyptian shrugged his shoulders we are both under orders of my commander in the submarine and you a at t the moment under mine 11 it appears to me sir 11 rattray said bald turning to captain peterson that this things an unholy great bluff through a window of the captains cabin aswall pasha pointed to where the wreckage of the mainmast lay half over the starboard rails you see bee we do not hesi hesitate taie he murmured the dhow has rea reached clied position the egyptian went on and glancing ata at a jeweled wrist watch 1 I must notify A len chow the second in command delivered them you yoa that you now have exactly three minutes in which to make up your mind captain A boat packed with negroes sand and manned by four arab rowers was wag coming from the dhow the captain exchanged glances with jack rattray no alternative air none whatever ever r said the latter savagely pas come first we barent risk it the skipper nodded and crossing swung open the door of 0 9 safe ile he handed keys keya to the purser and so BO from the bullion room between decks two millions of minted money was removed taken down tile the ladder and transferred to the dhow it was contained la in wooden boxes each holding five alve thousand pounds and not too one man to carry the york work was wag done by a team of huge negroes in a constant procession coming coining and going like magnificent black ants they worked until all the boxes were removed from the wallaroo the transshipment carried out with admirable dispatch under the orders of aswall pasha at the head of the ladder was completed in less than a quarter of an hour CHAPTER XI N THE control room of the submarine IN yuan lies ilea see received coil constant stant messages from an unnamed source leh chow the second in command delivered them P 0 BENDIGO INWARD ARD TWENTY MILES SOU SOUTHEAST BIDDY BIBBY LINER OXFORD SHIRE OUTWARD F FIFTEEN MILES NOR NORTHWEST AMERICAN FREIGHTER JOHN CLAY ADEN TO SUEZ TEN MILES DUE i SOUTH on receipt of this third message yuan ilea hee see spoke into a tube there Is too much delay he said signal to all to draw oft in the dhow I 1 he studied the scene on the wallaroo aswall at the head of the ladder raised ills hand signifying running there was wag tumult desperation yunn yuan ileo ilea seo see began to laugh that weird piping laughter swept around the oily little compartment like 1110 it a breeze from hell hall the torpedo burled its wicked nose jo lung was clever I 1 squarely into tile engine room there Ther ewas waa a monstrous explosion which shook the submarine from stem to stern smoke and steam dropped a yell veil between the doomed liner and tto tile eyed of yu yuan a n ileo bee see sec yet he trusted tho the wasp ills chief chlof torpedo operator second tube lie he directed if the first explosion had been nn an enormous one the second was such as seemed seema to tend rend tho the very heavens the second torpedo had bad registered in number two hold where twi twenty aly cases of potted stilton for colombo were stored they had come aboard in Mar marseilles milles just before doctor bestler went ashore they contained enough high explosive to cestr destroy 0 y a small town yunn yuan ilea heo ge seo rubbed tits his plump hands together mid and began to laugh again although they had drawn away from tho the wallaroo a veritable tidal wave swept them but yuan laughed on at last recovering himself order all to cast tho the boats ot off and head bead the dhow back came his high pitched instructions ile ho glanced up to find len chow at his elbow ile iio took the message which his second in command had brought adjusted hla his spectacles and still chuckling read NEWS OP OF EXPLOSION BELAYED PORT SUDAN PANTHER HEADED FOR YOU yuan uce hee see bee nodded read th the a message a second time and began very 8 softly to hiss his 8 a 0 0 jack rattray chief of officer lIcer who had seen the torpedo was racing for tile the bridge ile he had just reached tile the ladder when it crashed into the engine room one of the boilers wen went tand and helas he was heaved oft off his feet lost hla his hold of tho ilia rail and pitched info the sc uppers dazed temporarily confused he staggered up somewhere behind and below there was a shambles shrieks which he ha was never to forget to tits ills dying day lie ile tottered totter cd again tor for the ladder and was halt half THE STORY FROM THE OPENING CHAPTER matt kearney young american living in london says goodby good by to his later bister elleen eileen on board the wallaroo which la Is conveying in gold to australia inspector dawson hale Haig of scotland yard very rauch much in love with elleen eileen to la on the trail of opium he Is convinced to Is concealed in jo lungs warehouse lie he delegates kearney with detective norwich to visit the place and find out what he can while there kearney picks up and carries away a notebook which ho he turns over to hals haig yuan ilea hea see leader of 0 international thieves to ia at jo lungs lie he mends bends men after norwich and kearney one of whom he realizes mus must havo picked up the notebook halg li ih puzzled over cryptic notes in the book norwich is a found murdered while halg Is poring over the book a monstrous creature enters celiea it and escapes claig boards the wallaroo at marseilles disguised from radio messages he decodes he realizes members of euans gang are on board and have recognized him A chinaman tries to throw halg haig overboard but goes oyer himself at port said halg Is le lured into a bath or of feathers E iteen elleen disappears halg haig escapes from the trap slid and shoots joseph one of the plotters elleen drugged regains consciousness in euans headquarters headquarter a yuan intends to capture or sink the wallaroo using josephs credentials halg makes his way to deneh ile ha begins to perceive euans plot to seize the gold on tile the wallaroo laroo but all his thong thoughts ats aro are cent centered dred on the rescue of elleen impersonating joseph he Is assigned to guard duty outside euans mansion the girl him from a W window ind ow and Is heartened haig also has seen her yuan tuan lures the wallaroo from her course with a wireless appeal for aid that the order had already reached him three thre negroes carrying chests the last of the consignment climbed into the boat followed the boat pulled off to the dhow yuan bee see spoke again down the tube all Is to take both boats in tow without transshipping the load this order was transmitted to a man forward on the deck of the submarine and shouted to As daml pasha captain peterson Pc terson bareheaded bare headed gray faced stood on the bridge of the wallaroo it all seemed unreal utterly impossible eyen even now it was difficult to believe that the pirates had been actually on board his ship without a blow struck had removed that precious cargo under his eyes yet had there been any alternative even it if the he wallaroo had bad carried a gun the fate of all these women and children below must have rested upon the success cofone of one shot he stood listening to the pulsing of the auxiliary engine on board the dhow watching the negroes scramble onto her stern then the boats swung out on two lines and the dhow headed in for the head of that rocky island near to which they lay her decks were black with I 1 negroes suddenly all signs of life vanished from the submarine came the faint sound of a bell on the Wall aroos bridge the ship began to vibrate but stand by bv all boat stations I 1 the captain roared the order was transmitted in dying adyln echoes from point to 16 point of the he ship stand by nil all boat stations stand by boat boat stations boat stations peterson sprang to the telegraph and jammed full speed ahead then leaped to theslie the side of trobridge the tho bridge and looked again lie ile was too latel late I 1 yuan uee bee see sat eat in the control room of the submarine seen been through the periscope the towering hull of the wallaroo seemed almost to overhang the vicious little warship yuan lice ilea see spoke softly first tube he said and the first torpedo was launched against the helpless liner frightened faces of stewards and other members of the crew some gome of them with war experience peered out of portholes port holes men were way up when tile lie second torpedo found its billet in the secret cargo the whole of the wallaroo forward of the bridge burst upward libei dikea volcano the deck planking bellied upward ebward and shot sho thim him into tho the sea as it il he had been propelled by a catapult lie ile came to the surface immediately beside a floating deck chair upon this lie he rested his hands for the moment content to be alive but bui lie he would have gambled it a year of the chance of life that remained to him to have been spared the tha spectacle ho he was now compelled to witness the wallaroo was sinking fast fasl pushing the timely piece of wreckage bea before rel him ilin ho he ducked tits his head and kicked 0 off wildly then resting on the fragile gaft lie he watched the forward part of the ship broken broke free of the hull huil the bowels of tho the wallaroo dropped out of her through the gaping hole below her bar bridge and the big ship dived Bat rattray tray clutching his little raft threw one arm across tho the folded wooden struts shaken though he was he knew its arese prese presence 11 ce alone spelled salvation and p pushing it before him he began to swim slowly yet further out to sea towards where a hundred and forty five miles due southwest port sudan nestled on the african coast and li IL 31 S panther captain harwood arwood II raced toward him 4 41 mass of wreckage was spread over ft a great surface of the sea the two machine gensin guna in the sub marines ran alnes conning towers crackled into activity sweeping that area where survivors struggled in the flotsam of the wrecked liner from the deck of the dhow men armed with rifles picked out more distant swimmers and now darting actively about amongst that marine sham bics now came of the sharks yuan uee bee see from the deck of the submarine watched thoughtfully 1 I had counted on the sharks he said but nevertheless wo we must take no chances from tile the dk deck of the dhow black marksmen were making good practice kid brown his face very white fired once or twice but wildly and never at a living target in his file capacity as aa pashas bodyguard he knew that he served a soulless villain but tila big own rec ord ont was as fur far from unblemished mis ell HH ill somehow lie hail had made terms with lift his elastic conscience lie he knew that the german freighter had lanil been sunk with nil all hands nearly two years before but lie lia lind and not been present at her actual sinking lie ile had been on oil tile subba chic when the american yacht was held up tip explosives had been smuggled into her hold in sonic some way fly and lie had seen her go up like a crystal palace firework display although no rescues were attempted there had been none of this sniping the sniping was wag too 00 oo much for tits his stomach lie he threw ills rifle on to the deck of the dhow got gor blamey blimey 1 ho he shouted clenching its his fists 1 I bennt do it I 1 its bloody murder I 1 what it Is bloody murder mur derl 1 you are consciences conscience t r 1 c k e n again mr drown brown the kid turned aswall stood pointing a vicious looking automatic straight at the kids storo ach 1 I have watched you witt with interest for somo some time tile the alan went on la in paris find and in egypt as well as here I 1 regret it but I 1 can no longer trust you aswall pasha iasha pressed the ilia trigger but swiftly as ho he acted lie ho nevertheless acted too slowly to check that maxim silencer left of the kid As the boxer dropped coughing to hang bring over the side pumping his hl lifes blood into the red sea eca As pasha temporarily passed into forgetfulness his once classic nose a mere memory on the submarine yunn ilea see gave the order to cease firing bring it will disturb the sharks lie ho explained pla ined ile ho rang on the engines to dead slow ahead and old macales Mac Ma lles cIles raising his eyes to the alio indicator as it tinkled grasped the levers automatically and then sank tits his debauched faco face into his hands sobbing bobbing as only a drunken man can sob when sober he be looks down upon what lie ho hai become in tb the great gardens of the ilia old palace an unusual quiet reigned tho the seemed to have disappeared to a man even the great engine shed adjoining tho the garages and its annex with the tall baito roasts masts were deserted the big house was still haig strode along the path close under the wall which marked the southern boundary of his patrol ills brain was racing again and ana he knew that he ha must keep a grip on common sense eunse ile iio made a detour so BO as aa to pass the window of 0 the hut he shared with the jackal tho drug shattered creole sprawled across his bunk breathing he heavily a ally haig realized that practically practical ll ho he had the run of the place a guardian who was wai himself a prisoner foolhardily lie he had thrust himself into the place and lie ho knew that it was not the cill call of duty but a mad anxiety for eileen which li biad a d driven him ile he had seen the room in which she was imprisoned apparently under the guardianship of a woman ile ho wondered lf if any of the de eunuchs remained on duty inside the harem bajew enclosure an losure lie ile walked along the path below the wall very faintly at times he had hoard heard the murmur of surf far b below el 0 IV cautiously he mounted the steps of the first of the tha little wate litow ers era there were several women in the garden but elleen eileen was waa not among them passing on he cautiously mounted another flight of steps he something nt fit which his heart seemed to miss a beau beat one of the black eunuchs was wag coming coining down a side path carrying a womans comans body thrown sack wise over ove r his right |
