d and haunted world of which I speak."

* * * * *

He paused a moment, a cruel smile on his face, as if he wished the full
import of his words to sear themselves into the minds of the doomed
men.

"But the woman," he added, "will return to Lodore with me and be the
queen of all women. And soon," he said savagely, "she may be queen of
all Lodore, of the worlds which pay tribute to Lodore, and of other
worlds which I will conquer and ravage. My father stood in my way and he
died at my own hands. So will others perish who thwart my ambition, and
I will become supreme in the universe!"

A feeling of reckless fury possessed Dirk as he listened to the words of
Zitlan and he felt an almost irresistible desire to drive a fist square
between the mad, glittering eyes of the Lodorian.

He glanced at the great clock, however, and he saw that the time to act
had not yet come. At the last moment he would make one desperate attempt
to frustrate the evil designs of Zitlan. If it failed--well, all would
be lost. But it was a far better thing to die resisting the despicable
Zitlan and his minions than it would be to live and to know that,
without a struggle, he had abandoned to degradation the girl he loved.

"This world of yours will be my world," he heard Zitlan boast, "and the
spoils from it will add to my riches. This one here," he continued,
indicating Stanton, "has offered to show me where all of the treasures
of the earth may be found. And, as a reward, he will return to Lodore
with me and there be elevated to a high position."

* * * * *

That, then, was why Stanton was not under guard like the rest of them.

"Our good friend, Stanton," said Lazarre, "seems to have become
something of a Judas."

"And let his name be forever cursed, like the name of Judas," said
Dirk.

"Silence!" thundered the Lodorian. "I, Zitlan, am speaking." He paused a
moment. "When I garner up the treasures of this world in the way of
precious stones and metals I also shall gather more priceless loot in
the way of women. And then, having taken all that I desire, I will lay
waste to this earth so that those who survive will fear the name of
Zitlan and will grovel before him like a god when once again he appears
to them."

While Zitlan had been speaking, Dirk had been studying the opponents
with whom he soon had to clash.

The two Lodorians who were standing guard over himself and hi