Paul Roderick drew a small bottle from his pocket. He steadied Harlan Treffin and ordered the man to drink. Treffin gulped the contents. A bitter liquid brought him to his senses. He gasped and stared about as though awakened from a nightmare. He recognized Roderick’s smiling features.
“We are here,” announced Roderick. “You see the door ahead? It marks the abode of Thade, The Death Giver.”
The strange name was unknown to Treffin, but the man appeared startled as he heard it. Steadying himself, he walked forward with Roderick, who stopped to knock upon the black door. Having thus announced himself, Roderick placed his finger tips against the portal and pressed upward. The door arose into the wall.
The room which the two men entered was the counterpart of the first, except that it was slightly larger than the anteroom The same green light pervaded. The curtains about the walls were a deep green. Even the ceiling was hung with drooping folds of heavy cloth. Directly ahead was another door of black, which bore the same luminous insignia — the skull and crossbones.
Two men were in this room. They stood like sentinels, one on each side of the door. Their bodies were robed; their heads were bound with turbans. These garments were of white; but the skins of these men were a glossy black. They had the appearance of gigantic Nubian slaves, picked from some strange tale of the “Arabian Nights.”
Harlan Treffin, by now completely aroused, gazed at these sentinels in wonder. He noted the green hangings; the green carpet which fluffed the floor; and finally his eyes came back to the weird design on the black panel before him.
He realized that he must be in New York, but he had never dreamed that such a strange place could exist within the confines of Manhattan. This was an amazing adventure that he had not anticipated. What was to be the outcome?
The answer lay in a movement of the black panel Slowly, the barrier moved upward. It revealed a small platform which showed its full width as the curtains raised to each side. A green wall was behind the platform, but in the foreground of this tiny chair, Treffin saw a weird creature seated in a chair.
THIS was the form of a wizened man — a person clad in a green robe. Yellow, scrawny hands extended from baggy sleeves. Upon the breast of the robe appeared a circle of black, with the design of skull and crossbones marked in white.
It was the face of the creature that startled Harlan Treffin. It made a striking contrast to the hands that rested on the arms of the chair. For the face was not yellow; it was green. It glowed with a luminous color that had evidently been dabbed there with some chemical compound.
The scene was so fantastic as to be almost unbelievable. In a sense, it was grotesque; but any ease of mind which Treffin might have gained was immediately dispelled when the creature in the chair began to speak.
“Welcome, Harlan Treffin!” The words came in a rasping voice. “Welcome to the abode of Thade. I am Thade! I am The Death Giver! You have come to obey my mandates.”
The insidious tones of the monster’s voice seemed to create a lasting spell. In the midst of this strange den, Harlan Treffin felt a sinking sensation that he could not overcome.
“I am Thade! I am The Death Giver!”
Those words carried an unknown menace. Harlan Treffin groaned. He understood now what Paul Roderick had said; that there could be no turning back. He already sensed the power of Thade. Silent, awed, and pressed by fear that he could not resist, Harlan Treffin awaited the commands of Thade, The Death Giver.
CHAPTER VIII. THADE ORDERS
“HARLAN TREFFIN.”
Thade pronounced the name in a tone that betokened doom. The visitor shuddered.
“Remember!” Thade’s voice came in an eerie monotone to Treffin’s ears. “Those who serve Thade once, serve him always. You have come here because you wish to avoid an exposure of your past. You need not fear it so long as you obey the commands of Thade.
“You will receive instructions here. You will obey them. If you fail, your past will be exposed. Not only that, you will also receive the only reward that Thade gives. That reward is death!”
Ominous words! Treffin stared at the ghastly green face before him. He knew that those livid lips carried no idle threat. Thade, The Death Giver, had spoken.
“Death is something that men fear,” continued Thade. “To some, it is a boon; to others, it is a misfortune. Death is the inevitable lot of man. It cannot be eluded; but it can be gained sooner than one anticipates.
“With death I have shown mercy to those who found life a burden. With death, I have ridden the world of those whose lives were useless. With death, I have gained riches; with death, I shall amass more wealth.”
Thade’s voice had reached a ringing note of assurance. It paused; then became low and conniving, an insidious tone that brought new alarm to the stranger who heard it. The hideous face of luminous green showed rows of gleaming, fanglike teeth as Thade spat forth a potent threat.
“With death I have wreaked punishment,” hissed Thade. “Quick death to those weaklings who failed to do my bidding. Slow death to those who conspired to thwart my purposes. Behold!”
A clawlike hand went to the side of the chair and pressed a knob. Harlan Treffin stepped back in horror as he saw the floor slide slowly open.
Beneath the spreading surface of green was a thick sheet of plate glass. Under it, entombed in a coffin like a mummy in a museum, was the form of a living man!
A helpless, miserable being whose shroud-wrapped form was wasted with long suffering: that was the horrible sight that Harlan Treffin saw. There, beneath the floor of Thade’s den, was proof of The Death Giver’s power. A face with hollow, bony cheeks; its colorless eyes staring sightlessly upward; a pain-racked frame that had shrunk to the proportions of a skeleton: this was the exhibit that Thade uncovered.
“One month ago,” came the cruel voice of The Death Giver, “that creature was like you — a strong, healthy man — a servant of Thade, The Death Giver. He planned to bring harm to me. He failed.
“When he was brought here, it was in his mind to betray Thade. Instead, he found this resting place. He is dying, as he has been since that night a month ago. He will continue to die, so long as I, The Death Giver, choose to torment him.
“Let this be a warning to you, Harlan Treffin. Thade, The Death Giver, bestows naught but death to such as you. I, Thade, shall reserve death so long as you obey my mandates. Should you fail, death will be swift. Should you exhibit the slightest sign of treachery, you shall die slowly — and painfully.
“As my underling, it shall be your duty to loose death when Thade commands. I shall give you instructions. I shall provide you with a means whereby you can protect yourself against formidable enemies. Remember the words of Thade, The Death Giver. I am your master, Harlan Treffin; there is no turning back!”
THADE’S voice ended, and the fangs showed in another gleaming smile as Harlan Treffin, his courage failing as he saw the sight beneath the floor, began to sway. Thade pressed the knob at the side of his chair. The green carpet closed, just as Treffin’s body collapsed upon the spot where the opening had been.
The Death Giver uttered words in a strange language. The tall Nubians stepped silently forward and lifted the form of the man who had fallen senseless. They carried Harlan Treffin into the anteroom. Paul Roderick stepped forward to where Treffin had lain.
“He will do?” questioned Roderick calmly.
“He will do,” responded Thade. “Like the others, he faltered. That sight is one that he will never forget. When he recovers from his faint, he will heed the commands of Thade.”
Paul Roderick nodded as he approached the dais on which The Death Giver was seated. Here was one man whom Thade did not rule by awe; yet Roderick was careful in his manner toward the strange creature clad in green.