by Robert Reed
In the pocket of her sport-suit she carried a small but deadly gun
Dick had given her . She summoned a taxi, and entering it gave in a
low voice the number of Wentworth’s apartment house .
Her touch of the bell of his penthouse had hardly sounded the
buzzer before the door swung open and the haggard face of gray-
haired old Jenkyns stared out .
The smiles that usually wreathed his ruddy countenance were
missing . Nita felt her heart contract .
“Then Dick — Dick isn’t home?” she asked. Jenkyns shook his
old head slowly, stepped aside for her to enter . Apollo, released,
bounded ahead through the apartment, snuffing excitedly. But pres-
ently he returned and crowded close against Nita as she stood in
the luxuriously furnished drawing room, looking about with vacant
eyes .
“Ram Singh?” she asked .
Once more Jenkyns shook his head, and Nita’s hopes sank again .
“They didn’t leave together, Miss Nita . Ram Singh went out a little
while after the master .” Ram Singh had a broken arm, and a man
couldn’t fight with his arm in splints, Nita thought. Listlessly she
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tugged her brown hat from her gleaming, curly head and walked
slowly toward a window .
Abruptly she was tense again, for from the hall sounded the me-
tallic buzz of the phone . She raced to it, snatched up the receiver .
“Richard Wentworth’s apartment,” she said, her words trembling
with hope .
The voice that came over the wire was not Dick’s . It had a soft
sibilance that made Nita’s hand tighten about the receiver, that made
a chill of dread race down her spine .
“Ah, Miss van Sloan,” said the voice on the wire, “I thought I
could find you there after I called your own apartment vainly. Rich-
ard Wentworth — the Spider — is my prisoner.”
A gasp shuddered from the girl . Someone had penetrated the
secret that no one save those who battled for him knew . Someone
had discovered that Richard Wentworth was the Spider! And that
someone — she was suddenly sure was the Black Death!
“What do you want?” she demanded, striving to drive the fear
from her tone .
“Ah,” said the voice, “I see that you are reasonable . That is for-
tunate . I was about to kill the Spider, but learning his identity I re-
membered that he was a wealthy man — and money is very dear to
me. If you would care to ransom him — ”
“Oh yes, yes!” Nita cried .
Evil laughter taunted her . “It will not be so simple as that . You
cannot come with the police and liberate your — friend. For there is
a little safety device which I have arranged to protect myself .
“In the Spider’s pocket is a cigarette lighter that is a twin to his
own in every respect save one . In this one the seal of the Spider will
not dissolve when it is opened, and the secret chamber is so clumsily
hidden that even the dull-witted police can discover it .”
Nita heard that news with sinking heart . “You doubtless know,”
the Black Death went on, “where you can get hold of considerable
money .”
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Yes, Nita did know . There was a safe in Dick’s room where he
always kept a large quantity of cash on hand against the possible
necessity of flight that ever hung above his head.
“Get this money, then,” the man ordered . “Come to the corner of
Madison Avenue and Fifty-Seventh Street and walk uptown . Obey
the man who meets you there .”
Then reed-like over the phone Nita caught a faint voice as if
someone shouted from a distance, and she thrilled as she recognized
the voice of Dick Wentworth .
“No, Nita! No! It — means — death!”
A curse snarled from the man at the phone . She heard a jar, si-
lence, then the dread voice purred once more in her ear .
“It was unfortunately necessary for me to silence your — friend.
He is unduly suspicious, and a trifle troublesome. It may be that
unless you hurry I shall be forced to deal firmly with him before
you can get here . In fact I can allow you only twenty minutes . Re-
member — ” the man’s voice rose suddenly in sharp warning — “if
you bring the police, they will learn that Richard Wentworth is the
Spider . They will not forget that the seal of the Spider has been
printed on the brow of five of their dead comrades.”
“Oh tell, tell me,” cried Nita, “that Dick is all right . You haven’t
hurt him — ”
Over the wires came only a sinister laugh . Nita put the telephone
down with a listless hand . The anxious Jenkyns was at her elbow .
“What is it, Miss Nita?”
She told him rapidly all that she knew, and the butler, too, begged
her not to go .
“If Master Dick is captured,” he reassured her, “you may be sure
he wanted to be . And if he wanted to be, he has a way out . You’d
only upset his plans .”
The girl stared at Jenkyns . Dick Wentworth never went into dan-
ger unprepared, yet his cry over the wire: “It means death!”
She shook her head sharply . “Not this time, Jenkyns,” she said .
“You don’t know what a terrible thing he is fighting, how clever the
Black Death is!”
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She turned swiftly to the task she had set for herself . The weight
of the automatic in her pocket swayed against her side and lent a cer-
tain comfort . From the wall safe in Wentworth’s room she took two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars, made a bundle of it under her
arm. Apollo followed her every footstep, claws patting on the floor.
She looked down at him . Apollo had helped her in many a tight
scrape . But how could she use the Great Dane now? Dick had taught
the dog many tricks, had trained him to pretend hostility toward
herself if she made a certain signal . It was an old smuggler’s trick .
Frequently their jewel-smuggling pets were captured by officers
who then sought to identify the master through the dog . And the man
trained the animals so that they would snarl even at the hand they
loved if they received a certain signal from their master .
Perhaps it might serve her in good stead now . She spun toward
Jenkyns, smiled at him .
“Jenkyns,” she said, “we are going to do what we can to save
Dick . I want you to help me .”
“Anything, anything, Miss Nita! But I’m afraid these old hands
have long since passed the time…”
Nita shook her head sharply . “No, not that,” she said . “What I
want you to do is this . I’m going to drive Dick’s roadster uptown to
the spot where they want me to meet this man . I want you to get in
a taxi with Apollo and follow me .”
“When I meet someone, just let Apollo out . That is all . But in
God’s name, whatever happens, don’t call the police .”
Jenkyns smiled wanly . “Aye, I can do that, Miss Nita,�
� he said .
“But I hate to think of you putting yourself in the hands of that awful
man .”
Nita’s hand strayed to her gun, and her sweet mouth compressed,
became a straight line that was very much like the Spider’s own
when he battled against odds .
She called the dog, fastened the leash and gave it into Jenkyns’
hand . Together they left the building .
A newsboy dashed up as she crossed to the powerful Hispana
Suiza .
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“Extra!” he shouted in her ear . “Extra! Black Death kills twenty!
Spider hunted! Extra!”
Nita almost flinched from the words. The Black Death. It meant
a disease to the people, a plague that hung like a pestilential cloud
over the city . To her it meant a sinister voice over the wire, a crimi-
nal genius who held her lover’s life in vicious, tormenting hands .
She flung into the roadster, with the easy competence of experi-
ence touched the motor to deep-throated life . A glance at her watch .
Fifteen minutes remained of the time the Black Death had allotted!
Her foot was heavy on the accelerator and the droning motor
sped her uptown through nearly deserted streets . She parked at
Fifty-Seventh and Madison and walked slowly up the avenue .
Behind her she glimpsed the taxi that contained Jenkyns and her
faithful dog, but she dared not glance back again lest she arouse
suspicions and foredoom her efforts to save Dick .
She heard the purr of auto tires, the metallic opening of a door,
and a black sedan stood at the curb with motor running, its rear door
open . Within, all was darkness .
With an effort Nita kept her hand away from the gun in her pock-
et . Her elbow clamped tight against the package of money beneath
her arm . The chauffeur sat with his eyes rigidly front, no one else
was visible, but a hateful voice that Nita recognized, called softly,
“Your car awaits, Miss van Sloan .”
Nita forced her feet to carry her toward that yawning black inte-
rior and climbed stiffly in.
Not until then did she glimpse the man who had called . A faint
glimmer of light seeped beneath a shade and revealed a large, broad
shouldered man . There was no face, but eyes stabbed at her through
the slits of a black mask .
The door slammed, and the car slid forward . Nita was very near
despair . Of what use was her dog now? Of what use Jenkyns’ faith-
ful shadowing?
“Where is Dick?” she demanded . “I won’t give you the money
until…”
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The man’s soft laughter checked her words . She knew without
explanation the meaning of that ugly mirth . To talk of giving him the
money when she was in his power, in the power of a man so fiendish
that he had loosed the Plague upon the city!
For a wild moment Nita considered snatching her gun, but even
as she hesitated it was too late . The man’s hand closed like a metal
band about her wrist, took the revolver, then deliberately searched
her entire person, for other weapons .
Nita’s face burned with humiliation, but her angry protest earned
only mocking laughter . One thought buoyed her, the hope that soon
she would be with Dick . It might avail no more than that they should
die together . But even so she went gladly .
It was fifteen minutes later, after many turnings, that the girl felt
the car draw to a stop . The man with the mask held a gun so that she
could see its glint and said softly:
“I would advise against any outcry . I would dislike to put a bullet
into your lovely body, but I should not hesitate to do so if the neces-
sity arose .”
He opened the door and Nita stepped out silently, found herself
looking up at an elaborate apartment building .
Her heart beat wildly . Soon now she would see Dick . Sudden fear
caught her by the throat. If — if this monster had kept his word and
not harmed him .
A man walked on either side of her, and she got no opportunity to
discover whether Jenkyns had followed, whether Apollo would be
able to help if the need arose .
She was whisked into the building through the basement en-
trance, up many flights of stairs. The masked man roughly dismissed
the chauffeur then, and with fingers clamped about Nita’s arm, led
her to a door . She heard the key grate . Light smote her eyes .
She started forward, eagerly, but the hand on her arm held her
back, and the man’s gloating laughter rang in her ears .
“In a hurry, Miss van Sloan? Sorry, but I must detain you a mo-
ment .” And he held her while they walked slowly down a long hall-
way and entered a sparsely furnished room .
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There Nita halted . A tremulous smile lifted her lips . Dick at last!
But not the Dick she had always known . The man before her was
plainly helpless — and there was a despairing droop to his shoulders
that spoke clearer than words of lost hope…
Chapter 10
Great Apollo
Wentworth’s wrists were handcuffed before him and another
shackle about his ankles secured him to a steam pipe . His tool kit
had been discovered by the Black Death and lay open upon the floor
before him . Men had examined it . Tied to the bed lay Virginia Doeg,
her red hair tousled, her face swollen, still in a stupor from the ef-
fects of drugs .
Wentworth smiled slowly, deepening the taut lines of his face .
His eyes seemed to grow more haggard .
“Darling, darling,” he said, “why did you come?”
“Scarcely complimentary to the lady, my dear Mr . Wentworth,”
jeered the man behind the mask. “I marvel that she finds you so
attractive .”
Nita tugged against his restraining hand . “Oh, please, please,”
she said, and, released, ran to Dick and threw her arms about him .
For a moment she forgot all the evilness of her surroundings in the
joy of being with him again . He buried his face in the softness of her
hair, murmuring over and over, “Darling .”
But Nita was not entirely absorbed in the greeting, happy as she
was to be with Dick again . Her mind was working swiftly, seeking
some way to help him escape . She put little credence in this man’s
promise to let her ransom Wentworth . But she turned to him with
seeming confidence.
“Now turn him loose,” she said, smiling . “You have the money .”
The man regarded her steadily through the slits of his mask and
made no answer . Nita walked toward him, her eyes pleading, her
hands half outstretched .
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“I have fulfilled my part of the bargain,” she said. “It is your turn
to do as you promised .”
She was quite close to him now . The beginnings of laughter shook
him . He chuckled in amusement, threw back his head, and, like an
uncoiling spring, Nita leaped forward, snatched for the gun she
had
seen him place in his pocket . The man snapped his arms about her .
They were like steel bands and she was helpless . He laughed at her
struggles, lifted her bodily from the floor and carried her well away
from Wentworth .
“Almost caught me napping,” he chuckled . “Ah, but I admire a
brave and pretty woman .” He took her hat from her head and ran his
hand through her tangled curls, tilted up her face . He laughed again .
“Only the necessity for wearing my mask,” he said, “prevents me
paying proper tribute to your beauty .”
He turned toward the Spider, straining futilely against his shack-
les . “Perhaps,” the masked man went on softly, “when we have dis-
posed of your — friend…”
Wentworth forced himself to calmness . Showing agitation would
merely be fuel to the flames of this man’s love of torture. He laughed
shortly .
“A petty criminal to the last,” he jeered, “pulling petty little tricks .
The Black Death? You haven’t the brain to conceive such a thing .”
Holding Nita helpless, the man turned the blank face of his mask
to Wentworth .
“And the Spider gives evidence of human emotion,” he mocked .
“Imagine the Spider, the great altruist, being swayed by mere jeal-
ousy!”
Wentworth’s face was disdainful, and in his eyes Nita caught a
gleam that gave her hope . But it was only for a moment . Dick was
courageous beyond all men she knew, but bravery could not break
those gleaming shackles of steel that held him prisoner .
“Just a muscle-man,” the Spider jeered, “a fool sleeping in the
King’s bed, pretending to be the Black Death . Why you—”
And the masked man laughed!
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“Give up, Spider,” he said . “I’ll admit you’re clever . But when
you try to goad me into talking, you’re merely amusing . You’ve
been trying now for two hours, excepting for the twenty minutes it
took to collect your girl friend, and you’ve learned precisely noth-
ing .”
It was the Spider’s turn to laugh . The two men glared at each
other fiercely.
“You think so?” Wentworth sneered .
Nita remained quiescent in the man’s grasp . She could feel his
anger mounting in the tightening grip of his fingers on her arms.
They bit like the pinchers of the Inquisition, but she made no sound .