at 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 succumbing 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 contain