of its
enormous muscular strength, for wiry and in hard training as he was, he
was dragged with it, rolled over and over in the wreathings of the
black, hairy tentacles. Was he being dragged off to its den? The very
terror of the thought nerved him once more--revived his fast-failing
strength. Drawing forth another of his bone daggers, he plunged it, too,
deep into the body of the beast.

For a moment the sinewy, struggling tentacles relaxed, and just that
moment the man was able to seize, or he had been lost. With a violent
effort he flung himself free, and, having once more gained his
feet,--his breath coming in hard, panting gasps,--stood awaiting the
next attack.

Thus they stood, a strange group indeed, in the brilliant moonlight: The
man, his rudely constructed mace uplifted, his head bent forward, a
lurid glow in his eyes--the glow of the fell fury of desperation; the
hideous spider-devil--swaying itself on its horrible tentacles as though
for another spring upon its intended victim. Ha! it was coming!

The man stood ready, a tightening of the muscles of the arm that held
the club, a lowering of the brows. On the part of the demon, a spasmodic
contraction. Again it came at him.

Half rearing itself from the ground, its feelers waving in the air on a
level with his face, propelling itself slowly forward, as though to make
sure of its final rush, emitting the while a kind of soft breathing
hiss. The aspect of the creature was so truly fearful, that the man,
gazing upon it, was conscious of a kind of blasting influence stealing
over him, beginning to paralyze nerve and effort alike--a feeling that
it was useless to continue the struggle. The metal box could not save
him twice. Yet, through all, was the certainty that to lose nerve for
one moment was to lose life.

His will-power triumphed. He knew that did he once again get within grip
of those ghastly tentacles he would never emerge alive. He swung up his
improvised mace; the creature was now within twelve yards of him. He
hurled the club; with terrific force it cleft the air, the massive band
of gold which constituted its head lighting full upon one of the demon's
eyes. For one moment the horror contracted into a heaving, writhing
heap, frightful to behold, then, throwing out its grisly tentacles, it
spun round and round as it had done before. The man's heart was beating
as though it would burst. Was the thing slain, or in its vampire
tenacity of life would