Frank Merriwell's Pursuit Part 56

The voice was low and musical, but Morgan felt a thrill at the touch of that hand, and in the steady, piercing glance of those eyes there was something that caused a queer sensation of helplessness to creep upon him.

"Sit down," was the invitation. "I will tell you all about it. Sit here, where the light will not fall in your eyes."

He was urged into a chair. The man sat down before him, and on those wonderful black eyes the light fell fairly.

The strange man began to talk in that low, soothing voice of his. He talked--as had Harrigan--of mines, and railroads, and great projects.

His voice had an accent that was pleasant to hear, and at times the formation of his sentences was peculiar. All the while, as he talked, he looked steadily into Dade's eyes. At last, he leaned forward and took Morgan's hands, continuing to talk.

Suddenly Dade realized that a spell was stealing over him. He was growing drowsy. The man before him was telling him that he was tired and should rest.

Morgan realized that he was being hypnotized!

Instantly he aroused all his will power to fight against it. At the same time he resolved on a crafty course. He determined to pretend that he was succ.u.mbing to the hypnotic spell.

This he cleverly did, his head sinking against the back of the chair and his eyes closing. By closing his own eyes he shut out the view of those terrible eyes, which he feared might conquer him.

There was a brief silence, and then the triumphant voice of the mysterious man said:

"I have him now, and he is mine. From this night he shall do my bidding.

And he is the trusted friend and companion of Frank Merriwell! Ah!

through him I will strike Merriwell, even as I promised to strike him. I told him I would ruin his beauty. Through this friend of his I will accomplish the deed. Here I have a vial of vitriol. I always carry several vials of poison with me. This one I will place in this chap's pocket, and with it he shall do my command."

Then Morgan felt the man thrusting something into a pocket of his vest.

A moment later the soft voice spoke to him.

"Do you hear me?" it asked.

Morgan had witnessed hypnotic exhibitions, and so he answered in a low, mechanical manner:

"Yes, sir."

"Good! I am your master, now and forever. Do you recognize and acknowledge me as your master?"

"Yes, sir."

"Sleeping or waking, wherever you are, you must obey my commands. You cannot refuse. What I tell you to do, while in your present state, you must do while in a normal condition. You will obey me!"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. In your pocket I have placed a vial containing a liquid.

To-night, after returning to your hotel, you will seek Frank Merriwell's room. If you find him in bed, all the better. You must take him unawares. You must uncork that vial and fling the contents into his face. This you will do!"

Although filled with indignation and horror, Dade answered:

"I will."

"Good! It is enough. I----"

He stopped speaking, interrupted by the furious ringing of a bell. Then came another man rushing into the room, shaking with excitement, who announced that there were many men at the door and others all round the house. Apparently they were officers.

"Frank has turned the trick!" exultingly thought Morgan. "He has the wretch trapped!"

But he remained motionless.

Hagan and Cavendale were greatly excited. They hurried from the room, followed by "the chief."

The ringing at the doorbell continued. Then heavy blows fell on the door, resounding through the house. There was the sound of smashing wood.

"Come on, Merry!" laughed Morgan. "You have him this time! Don't let him get away!"

He had leaped up. He heard the door burst open. He heard some one approaching on the jump. With a spring he concealed himself behind a high-backed chair in the corner.

Hagan burst into the room, followed by "the chief."

"It's caught ye are, Mr. Lazaro!" said the disgusted Irishman. "They have us all! It's bad for me, but for you it means life behind the bars."

"Never!" was the retort. "See this vial, Senor Hagan? It contains poison. I shall swallow----"

A policeman appeared in the doorway.

The man of the terrible eyes and snowy hair placed the vial to his lips and swallowed the contents. Then he flung the empty vial at the officer, staggered to a chair, dropped upon it, and laughed a horrible laugh that ended with what seemed a death rattle.

Morgan had risen. In a dazed condition he saw officers swarm into the room, saw Hagan--who had been introduced to him as Harrigan--handcuffed, saw Frank Merriwell bending over a limp, still form and declaring the man was Lazaro.

"He has swallowed poison!" cried Dade, arousing himself at last, and rushing forward. "I saw him do it!"

The eyes of Lazaro--those fearful eyes--were lifted to the face of Frank Merriwell for a moment. A haze seemed spreading over them. The lips of the man moved. Silence fell on the room, and all present heard him say:

"Merriwell, you have brought death to me at last. To escape you and to escape imprisonment, I die at last. Even yet you shall not escape me. I shall haunt you after death! I will bring you at last to your miserable end! _Adios!_"

Then the lips were still, the eyes partly closed.

"He is dead!" said an officer.

"Not until I hear him proclaimed dead by a reliable physician will I be satisfied," said Frank. "Bring in a doctor."

A short time later a doctor appeared. The physician knelt beside Lazaro and made a careful examination, silently watched by the others. At last the doctor rose to his feet, saying:

"There is no question about it, the man is dead."

THE END.

"d.i.c.k Merriwell Abroad" is the t.i.tle of the next volume in THE MERRIWELL SERIES, No. 118. A tale of d.i.c.k Merriwell's adventures in foreign lands by Burt L. Standish.