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25 - Black Stars Campaign by Johnston McCulley · Black Stars Campaign

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty five of Black Star's Campaign by Johnston McCully.
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  Speaker 1: This literyvox recording is in the public domain. Read by
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  Speaker 1: Yoganan Black Star's Campaign, Chapter twenty five, end of the trail.
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  Speaker 1: Half a dozen feet from the fence, Werbek stopped. He
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  Speaker 1: watched the house for a couple of minutes, and then
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  Speaker 1: advanced another pace. He was within three feet of the
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  Speaker 1: fence now, and he saw what he had expected. Wires
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  Speaker 1: and cables of metal, cunningly woven in the mesh of
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  Speaker 1: the structure itself, and in such a manner that the
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  Speaker 1: whole thing would be changed when a current was turned on.
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  Speaker 1: The Chief had crawled up behind Berbeck. That fence is deadly,
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  Speaker 1: Werberk said. The black Star used something like this once before,
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  Speaker 1: you'll remember, and half a dozen men were seriously shocked
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  Speaker 1: and burnt. We don't dare try to pass it at present.
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  Speaker 1: The current may or may not be running through it.
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  Speaker 1: We can't take the chance. If the gate was open,
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  Speaker 1: we probably could pass through without danger. But the gate
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  Speaker 1: is a part of the circuit. Well, are we going
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  Speaker 1: to let a fence tires up? The chief asked, if
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  Speaker 1: the black Star and his banner in sight, every minute
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  Speaker 1: we spend out here gives them a chance to get
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  Speaker 1: ready for us. Want the men, Werbek said. The chief
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  Speaker 1: sent the word around the circle of officers. Nobody was
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  Speaker 1: to touch the fence, since it probably was changed with
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  Speaker 1: a deadly current and shocks and burns had wrestled. Sheriff
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  Speaker 1: Cowen had crawled up to them through the brush. Look,
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  Speaker 1: he exclaimed. Suddenly, a dog, attracted by the men in
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  Speaker 1: the woods, had been running from one room to another,
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  Speaker 1: now chasing a stick one of the men had thrown.
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  Speaker 1: He brushed against the fence as single yell came from him,
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  Speaker 1: and he was stretched on the ground, apparently lifeless. You see,
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  Speaker 1: Erberk said, perhaps it wouldn't kill a man, but it
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  Speaker 1: would burn him badly and put him out of the game.
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  Speaker 1: We have got to get through, the chief declared, and
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  Speaker 1: how are we going to do it. One of the
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  Speaker 1: electricians had crawled forward, and they explained the situation to him.
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  Speaker 1: If the current is touch strong, we can't fool with it,
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  Speaker 1: he said earnestly. Electricity isn't a timid placing at best,
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  Speaker 1: and a dozed like that fence hands out is too
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  Speaker 1: much for anybody. You'll notice that the dog hasn't moved.
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  Speaker 1: He's dead. And since we can't get through that fence,
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  Speaker 1: we can go over it. Werberk added, how The chief
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  Speaker 1: and the sheriff asked in chorus Bridge. The thing said, Werberg.
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  Speaker 1: We've got men enough, and there are trees enough. It'll
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  Speaker 1: be one tickless chob the electrician warned, But it can
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  Speaker 1: be done, Werberk declared, Chief, have all your men watch
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  Speaker 1: the house closely. If anybody in there tries to interfere
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  Speaker 1: with me, bumb out the place. Werberk sprang up and
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  Speaker 1: ran parallel to the fence for a distance of half
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  Speaker 1: a hundred feet. He had spotted a big tree there
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  Speaker 1: that had a projecting branch not fifteen feet from the ground,
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  Speaker 1: a branch half a foot in diameter that extended over
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  Speaker 1: the fence into the yard about the house. He swung
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  Speaker 1: himself into the tree, reached the branch, and crept out
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  Speaker 1: along it. He crossed over the deadly fence, hesitated a moment,
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  Speaker 1: and dropped Roger Werbeck was inside. He found that he
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  Speaker 1: was partially screened from the house by a clump of brush.
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  Speaker 1: He turned his back upon the house and crept toward
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  Speaker 1: the fence again. The Chief and sheriff hurried to meet him.
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  Speaker 1: Almost all your men can do as they have done,
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  Speaker 1: Berberk said, we don't even have to bridge it. Have
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  Speaker 1: them come over one by one and have the others
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  Speaker 1: watch the house closely. If the Black Star or any
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  Speaker 1: of his men are in there, they know we are
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  Speaker 1: after them and are watching us. The chief issued the orders.
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  Speaker 1: The men made the perilys trip one at a time
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  Speaker 1: and dropped to the ground beside Werbek. Twenty men in
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  Speaker 1: all crossed over and left the others to guard outside
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  Speaker 1: the fence, maintaining the blockade around the house. Not a
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  Speaker 1: sign had come from within to show that their presence
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  Speaker 1: was known. But Erbeck and those who had fought against
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  Speaker 1: the Black Star before knew that that did not mean safety.
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  Speaker 1: It was like the Black Star to wait for the
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  Speaker 1: proper moment before striking. Be careful, you men, Erberk warned,
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  Speaker 1: We are fighting the Black Star, please remember, and he
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  Speaker 1: can be unscrupulous at times. You may consider yourselves in
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  Speaker 1: danger from the moment we start toward the house. In
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  Speaker 1: his old headquarters, he had some of the most diabolical
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  Speaker 1: traps known to man, and you always find them where
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  Speaker 1: you least expect them. Beware of the doors and windows.
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  Speaker 1: Investigate them before you touch them. And if we get
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  Speaker 1: inside the place, be alert continually. You may expect pitfalls,
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  Speaker 1: vapor bombs, and knit thing. The officers scattered and surrounded
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  Speaker 1: the house inside the fence. Those on the outside crept
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  Speaker 1: as close as he dared, weapons held ready, and watched
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  Speaker 1: the doors and windows. On and on went those inside
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  Speaker 1: the fence until they were almost against the walls. The Chief,
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  Speaker 1: the sheriff, and Werbeck went at the front. Doesn't seem
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  Speaker 1: to be anybody around, the chief said, They got twice
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  Speaker 1: and left. I suppose. Well, we'll investigate the place anyway,
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  Speaker 1: since we are here. He started up the steps that
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  Speaker 1: led to the small verandah at the front of the house.
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  Speaker 1: His foot struck the lower step. There was a sharp
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  Speaker 1: explo and half the verandah was torn away. Berberk and
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  Speaker 1: the others reeled backward. A cloud of smoke filled the air.
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  Speaker 1: And it was not the pungent paper used with the
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  Speaker 1: black star in his bombs. That was a real thing,
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  Speaker 1: Berberk declared. The Chief was pale and trembling as he retreated.
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  Speaker 1: I'll get that fiend, he declared. Look at that hole,
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  Speaker 1: that explosion made in the Porsche floor if a man
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  Speaker 1: had been over that they set it off too quick.
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  Speaker 1: The sheriff said, we've got to move carefully or we'll
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  Speaker 1: be having casualties. We must take that chance. The chief said,
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  Speaker 1: we've got to get that fiend. And policemen are paid
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  Speaker 1: to run into trouble when it is necessary. Into the house.
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  Speaker 1: Men get in any way that you can try to
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  Speaker 1: take care of yourself, but get in. The officers cheered
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  Speaker 1: and shouted. They plunged toward the windows and doors. They
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  Speaker 1: smashed panes of glass in and hurled themselves against doors
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  Speaker 1: as if they knew no fear. Half a dozen explosions came,
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  Speaker 1: but no man was insured. Here and there. A policeman
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  Speaker 1: made an entrance and others followed him. Within five minutes,
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  Speaker 1: Werberk and the Chief and Cowen found that all way
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  Speaker 1: inside gathered in the big hole at the front of
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  Speaker 1: the house, and that no man had received his crutch.
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  Speaker 1: I guess we're in the right trail shorerun of, the
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  Speaker 1: chief said. And this is where we must be careful,
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  Speaker 1: declared Roger Werberg. This is where we are liable to
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  Speaker 1: run into traps. The search of the house began There
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  Speaker 1: were but two floors in the basement, and the search
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  Speaker 1: started at the top. There the officers found nothing except
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  Speaker 1: unoccupied rooms that were filled with dust. They even went
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  Speaker 1: into the garret and found nothing except a heap of
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  Speaker 1: discarded clothing that looked as if it had been day
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  Speaker 1: for years. Next they searched the ground floor. In the
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  Speaker 1: rear was a kitchen almost immaculate, with its pots and
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  Speaker 1: pans and stores of foot There were three bed chambers
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  Speaker 1: that appeared to be all in constant use. And that
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  Speaker 1: was all. I suppose it is in the basement as usual,
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  Speaker 1: Werberg said. Carefulman, the chief warned, if they are in
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  Speaker 1: the basement, they'll put up a fight. That big crook
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  Speaker 1: knows water, so store for him when he's caught. So
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  Speaker 1: you don't want to bank too much on that old
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  Speaker 1: bunk of his that he aboards violence. A cornered rat
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  Speaker 1: will put up a stiff fight. They found the basement door.
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  Speaker 1: Roger Werbeck went forward, grasped the knob and jerked the
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  Speaker 1: door open. Suddenly again there was a rending explosion, and
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  Speaker 1: the panels and framework were shattered back through the hole.
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  Speaker 1: Staggered Erbeck and the others. The vapor the master crook
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  Speaker 1: used was mingled with the smoke of explosion and was
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  Speaker 1: sweeping through the hole, but the police had been prepared
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  Speaker 1: for it. They ran to the open windows and nailed
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  Speaker 1: the fresh air, remaining there until the poisonous fumes had
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  Speaker 1: been swept out of the open front door. Then they
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  Speaker 1: rushed back into the hole. Before them was a stairway
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  Speaker 1: shrouded in dense darkness. Erberk took an electric tarch in
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  Speaker 1: one hand and is automatic in the other, and began
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  Speaker 1: the descent. A detective immediately behind him. He flashed the
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  Speaker 1: torch on the stairs, hesitated before trading upon each one,
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  Speaker 1: made his way, step by step toward the bottom, expecting
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  Speaker 1: every instant to hear the crash of another explosion. He
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  Speaker 1: reached the end of the flight and found himself in
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  Speaker 1: a narrow hall. Along this he went a file of
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  Speaker 1: other men behind him. He came to a door. This
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  Speaker 1: seems to be the place, he whispered, If we are inside,
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  Speaker 1: we are due for a warm reception. He grasped the
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  Speaker 1: handle and jerked the door open. This time there was
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  Speaker 1: no explosion. He flashed his torch again. In front of
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  Speaker 1: the door was a heavy curtain of some sort. Werberk
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  Speaker 1: put out his hand and moved the curtain aside gently.
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  Speaker 1: He could see into the room, could see in the
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  Speaker 1: path of the electric torch, and that was all. Werberck
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  Speaker 1: knew that the situation was precarious. It meant something to
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  Speaker 1: enter a dark room in which a black Star and
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  Speaker 1: some of his men might be waiting. He took courage,
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  Speaker 1: the more so since Roger Werberk was well acquainted with
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  Speaker 1: the Master Roake's methods and realized that the black Star
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  Speaker 1: was fighting for freedom. Now hold the curtain and wait,
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  Speaker 1: Werberk whispered to the man nearest him. He slipped inside
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  Speaker 1: the curtain and stood with his back against it. He
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  Speaker 1: had extinguished the torch. There was not a glimmer of light,
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  Speaker 1: not the slightest sound. Werbeck held his automatic ready and
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  Speaker 1: suddenly flashed the torch in his left hand. He played
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  Speaker 1: it down the length of the room, sweeping the streak
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  Speaker 1: of light from sight to sight. In he cried to
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  Speaker 1: the others torches. They crowded into the room, their lights flashing.
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  Speaker 1: The room was thoroughly eliminated. The chief gave a cry
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  Speaker 1: that was echoed by the sheriff and the others. Without
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  Speaker 1: a doubt they were in the Black Star's headquarters. Werberk
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  Speaker 1: knew the room instantly for the one in which he
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  Speaker 1: had been prisoner for a short time. There were the
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  Speaker 1: long table, the blackboats, and of the table a black
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  Speaker 1: robe and mask that had been discarded by some member
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  Speaker 1: of the band. Careful, the chief warned. I don't think
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  Speaker 1: there is any need of caution, said Roger Werberg, I
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  Speaker 1: have an idea that neither the Black Star nor any
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  Speaker 1: of his people are around the place. He knew we
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  Speaker 1: had got on the right trail, and he has moved.
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  Speaker 1: The Black Star always has another headquarters prepared. Remember he
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  Speaker 1: moved half a dozen times the last time we fought
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  Speaker 1: against him. A lamp on the table one of your
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  Speaker 1: men lighted. Werbek walked across the room to the blackboard,
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  Speaker 1: upon which there was some fine writing. I thought, so,
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  Speaker 1: he exclaimed. This is what he read. Gentleman. I am
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  Speaker 1: aware that you are going to locate the place where
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  Speaker 1: I live and work, and so I suppose I am
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  Speaker 1: forced to move. Had not that fool of a Landers
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  Speaker 1: telephoned me from the roof of the hotel, had not
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  Speaker 1: Roger Werbeck overheard the number you called, I would have
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  Speaker 1: been safe here as long as you wish to remain.
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  Speaker 1: I am leaving for a new place that already has
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  Speaker 1: been prepared for me. I am taking MUCKs along as
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  Speaker 1: a sort of hostage. There is no rush, since I
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  Speaker 1: have all night to make the move. When I go,
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  Speaker 1: I shall leave bombs attached to some of the windows
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  Speaker 1: and doors, and connected with the verandah steps. They will
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  Speaker 1: annoy you, perhaps, and make you think that you are
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  Speaker 1: brave men rushing into danger. It is just a little
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  Speaker 1: choke for this inconvenience. The city shall be made to
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  Speaker 1: pay dearly. Of course, it cost me something each time
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  Speaker 1: I move my headquarters. I have to leave furniture behind
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  Speaker 1: and have to inform all my people of the new location.
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  Speaker 1: But the people of the city shall pay. To night
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  Speaker 1: I strike, and I shall strike hard. Fooled again, the
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  Speaker 1: chief shrieked at Rachel, and we were on the right
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  Speaker 1: trail too. We'll get him, yet, declared Sheriff govern. Some
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  Speaker 1: of his people make another slip, and in the meantime
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  Speaker 1: Roger webberk interrupted, we'd better be preparing for to night
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  Speaker 1: and what it may bring forth. After this, the Black
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  Speaker 1: Star will strike with twice as usual, strength and cunning,
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  Speaker 1: he has said he would, and the crook always keeps
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  Speaker 1: his bird. The end of chapter twenty five