r wall I fancied I saw something--a
shape, a huddled shape--grotesque--horrible, somehow....

I heard Godfrey's startled cry, saw his hand swing up, saw a tongue of
yellow flame leap from his revolver.

And with the echo of the shot, came a scream--a scream piercing,
unearthly, of terror unspeakable....

I saw the Thug spring into the air, his face distorted, his mouth
open--I saw him tearing at something that swung from his
neck--something horrible, that clung and twisted....

He tore the thing loose--it was only an instant, really, but it seemed
an age--and, still shrieking, flung it full at us.

I was paralysed with terror, incapable of movement, staring
dumbly--but Godfrey swept me aside so sharply that I almost fell.

And that foul shape swished past us, fell with a thud, and was lost in
the darkness.

CHAPTER XXIV

KISMET!

Words cannot paint the nauseating horror of that moment. Fear--cold,
abject, awful fear--ran through my veins like a drug; my face was
clammy with the sweat of utter terror; my hands clutched wildly at
some drapery, which tore from its fastenings and came down in my
grasp....

Three shafts of lights swept across the floor, and almost at once
picked up that horrid shape. It was coiled with head raised, ready to
strike, and I saw that one side of its hood had been shot away.

I have, more than once, referred to Simmonds as hard-headed and
wanting in imagination--not always, I fear, in terms the most
respectful. For that I ask his pardon; I shall not make that mistake
again. For, in that nerve-racking moment, he never lost his coolness.
Revolver in hand, he crept cautiously forward, while we others held
our breath; then the pistol spoke, one, twice, thrice, and the ugly
head fell forward to the floor.

At the same moment, Godfrey sprang to the door from which volumes of
heavy, scented smoke still eddied, and disappeared inside.

I scarcely noticed him; I was staring at that foul object on the
floor; and then I stared at Francisco Silva, motionless on the divan,
his eyes fixed on the crystal sphere, undisturbed amid all this terror
and tumult. It is impossible for me to remember him, as he was in that
moment, without admiration--yes, and a little awe.

But Godfrey's voice, shrill with excitement, brought me around with a
start.

"Lester!" he shouted. "Lend a hand here!"

Wondering what new horror lay in wait, I fought my way into the other
room, stumbled over the body