xactly where you are." Devon's voice was very quiet, but there
was a quality in it which added to the icy chill of the night. "I know
you're not alone, but if any of your pals shows himself, I'll shoot him
dead. If you move or utter one word, or cry out, I'll kill you. Do you
understand?"

Shaw did understand. The look in his protruding eyes proved that. Those
eyes shifted wildly, turning this way and that, as if in search of the
help which lurked among those spectral trees. He himself stood as
motionless as one of them, and as he stood he moistened his thin lips
with the tip of a trembling tongue.

"Now," said Laurie, "I'm going to have the truth. I'm going to have it
all, and I'm going to have it quick. If you don't tell it, I'll kill
you. Probably I shall kill you anyway. But first you will answer two
questions. What power have you got over Miss Mayo? And what are you
trying to do?"

Shaw hesitated. Again his protruding eyes turned wildly to the right and
left, as if in search of help. Still holding the revolver in his right
hand, Laurie slowly reached out his left and seized the other's throat
in the grip of his powerful young fingers.

"Keep still," he warned, as the other started to raise his hands. "You
think the game isn't up, but it is. Now talk, and talk quick."

He tightened his grip on the thick, slippery throat. "I'm enjoying
this," he rasped. "If you were anything but the snake you are, I'd give
you a fighting chance. But a creature that uses chloroform and hires
three thugs to help him in his dirty jobs--"

He increased the pressure on the thick neck. Shaw's face began to
purple. His eyes bulged horribly. He choked, and with the act gave up.

"Hold on," he gurgled. "Listen."

The pressure on his throat slightly relaxed. With eyes closed, he
collapsed against the nearest tree-trunk. Laurie followed him, expecting
some treacherous move; but all the fight seemed out of the serpent. He
was clutching at his coat and collar as if not yet able to breathe.

"I've had enough of this," he finally gasped out. "I'll tell you
everything."

Even as he spoke, Laurie observed that one of the clutching, clawing
hands had apparently got hold of what it was seeking.

* * * * *

Doris, feeling her way through the blackness of the storm on the
unfamiliar country road, heard above the wind the sound of a sharp
explosion which she thought meant a blown-out tire. She did not stop.
Be