fore he could
recover it, pain mastered him and he fell back, clawing at himself,
rubbing at his eyes that had been stricken sightless. He yelled. Tony
yelled. Then upon the startled night there burst a duet of squeals and
curses, a hideous medley of mingled pain and fright, at once terrifying
and unnatural. Both bandits appeared to be in paroxysms of agony; from
Tony issued sounds that might have issued from the throat of a woman in
deadly fear and excruciating torment; Mallow's face had been partially
protected, hence he was the lesser sufferer; nevertheless, his eyes
were boiling in their sockets, his lungs were ablaze, ungovernable
convulsions ran over him.

The men understood vaguely what had afflicted them, for they had seen
Gray lift one hand from the wheel, and out of that hand they had seen a
stream of liquid, or a jet of aqueous vapor, leap. It was too close to
dodge. It had sprung directly into their faces, vaporizing as it came,
and at its touch, at the first scent of its fumes, their legs had
collapsed, their eyes had tightly closed, and every cell in their
outraged bodies had rebelled. It was as if acid had been dashed upon
them, destroying in one blinding instant all power for evil. With every
breath, now, a new misery smote them. But worse than this torture was
the monstrous nature of their afflictions. It was mysterious, horrible;
they believed themselves to be dying and screamed in abysmal terror of
the unknown.

Gray squeezed again the rubber bulb that he had carried in his hand
these last several miles, ejecting from it the last few drops of its
contents, then he opened the car door, stepped out of it and stood over
his strangling victims. He kicked Mallow's revolver off the road, and,
holding his breath, relieved the other high-jacker of his weapon. This
he flung after the first, then he withdrew himself a few paces and
lighted a cigarette, for a raw, pungent odor offended his nostrils.
Both of the bawling bandits reeked of it, but their plight left him
indifferent. They reminded him of a pair of horses he had seen
disemboweled by a bursting shell, but he felt much less pity for them.

His lack of concern made itself felt finally. Mallow, who was the first
to show signs of recovery, struggled to his feet and clawed blindly
toward the automobile. He clung to it, sick and shaking; profanely he
appealed for aid.

"So! It _is_ Mr. Mallow," Gray said. "Fancy meeting you here!"

A stream of incohere