about the young giant who had rescued her, until the man
feared that she was more interested in him than seemed good for his own
plans.

He had now cast from him the last vestige of his loyalty for his
employer, and thus freed had determined to use every means within his
power to win Professor Maxon's daughter, and with her the heritage of
wealth which he knew would be hers should her father, through some
unforeseen mishap, meet death before he could return to civilization
and alter his will, a contingency which von Horn knew he might have to
consider should he marry the girl against her father's wishes, and thus
thwart the crazed man's mad, but no less dear project.

He realized that first he must let the girl fully understand the grave
peril in which she stood, and turn her hope of protection from her
father to himself. He imagined that the initial step in undermining
Virginia's confidence in her father would be to narrate every detail of
the weird experiments which Professor Maxon had brought to such
successful issues during their residence upon the island.

The girl's own questioning gave him the lead he needed.

"Where could that horrid creature have come from that set upon me in
the jungle and nearly killed poor Sing?" she asked.

For a moment von Horn was silent, in well simulated hesitancy to reply
to her query.

"I cannot tell you, Miss Maxon," he said sadly, "how much I should hate
to be the one to ignore your father's commands, and enlighten you upon
this and other subjects which lie nearer to your personal welfare than
you can possibly guess; but I feel that after the horrors of this day
duty demands that I must lay all before you--you cannot again be
exposed to the horrors from which you were rescued only by a miracle."

"I cannot imagine what you hint at, Dr. von Horn," said Virginia, "but
if to explain to me will necessitate betraying my father's confidence I
prefer that you remain silent."

"You do not understand," broke in the man, "you cannot guess the
horrors that I have seen upon this island, or the worse horrors that
are to come. Could you dream of what lies in store for you, you would
seek death rather than face the future. I have been loyal to your
father, Virginia, but were you not blind, or indifferent, you would
long since have seen that your welfare means more to me than my loyalty
to him--more to me than my life or my honor.

"You asked where the creature came from that attacked