vement.

When within ten feet of the Englishman it stopped, nodded its head three
or four times, and slowly opened its mouth. There was a sharp, whirring
noise, such as comes from a phonograph, and a voice spoke:

"My voice shall sound on earth for a million years after my spirit has
left my body; and I shall wander about my dark dungeon as a warning to
men not to do as I have done."

The voice ceased, but the whirring sound in the creature's breast went
on. The figure shambled nearer to Thorndyke and the voice began again:

"I disobeyed the laws of great Alpha and her imperial king and am
to die. Beware of the temptation to search into the royal motives
or attempt to escape. The fate of all the inhabitants of Alpha, the
wonderful Land of the Changing Sun, is in the hands of its ruler.
Beware! My death-torture is to be lingering and horrible. I sink into
deepest dejection. I was eager to return to my native land and tried
to escape. Behold my punishment! Even my bones and flesh will not be
allowed to rest or decay. Beware, the king is just and good, but he will
be obeyed!"

Slowly the figure retreated toward the couch and lay down on it. The
whirring sound ceased, the light along the wire went out, and the
darkness thickened till the couch and the outlines of the chamber were
obscured. Then Thorndyke's chair was lifted, as if by unseen hands, and
he was borne backward. In a moment he felt the cool, damp air of the
corridor, and some one raised him to his feet and led him back to the
throne-room.

In the bright light which burst on him as the door opened, the beautiful
women and handsome men moving about the throne were to him like a
glimpse of Paradise. The attendant left him at the door and he walked
in, so dazed and weak that he hardly knew what to do. No one seemed to
notice him and the king was engaged in an animated conversation with
several ladies who were sitting at his feet.

In a bevy of women Thorndyke noticed Bernardino. She gave him a quick,
sympathetic glance of recognition and then looked down discreetly.
Presently she left the others and moved on till she had disappeared
behind a great carved wine-cistern which stood on the backs of four
crouching golden leopards in a retired part of the room. Something in
her sudden movement made the Englishman think she wanted to speak to
him, and he went to her. He was not mistaken, for she smiled as he
approached.

"I am glad," she whispered, touching his ar