choke us?'
'Carry on a bit,' replied the major.
THE ape-faced man moved slowly from one side of the table to the other, pausing in between to stare over the end of the rack and view the faces of his victims. The roller had pulled the chains taut now; the next turn of the winch brought a groan of agony from Harry. The Englishman caught his breath as the winch on his side was turned.
'I'm going to shout,' groaned Harry, 'while I have strength.'
He saw the hideous face of the ape-man grinning down upon him. He opened his mouth for the cry that would bring death. Strangulation would be pleasant as a relief from this torture.
But before Harry could shout, he saw the monster raise its head and snarl. It was looking at something at the foot of the rack. It seemed about to spring over the bodies of the prisoners.
There, at the foot of the table, stood a black-robed figure that completed the sinister aspect of this torture chamber. It was like some dark phantom of the past, a veritable inquisitor of the Middle Ages. Its face was hidden by its robes, but through the black coverings one could feel the piercing dagger of two eyes -
eyes that burned.
The ape-man did not leap upon the table. Instead he ran around to the side, snarling as he approached the opposite end. Then, from the black-robed form came a hissing whistle - the signal which the monster had been taught to obey. Jupe stopped and crouched beside the table.
'It's Chefano,' gasped Harry. 'Chefano, come to see us suffer.'
'Stay there, Jupe,' came the order.
The black-robed figure moved to the top of the table; it leaned over the faces of the stretched men, and its huge shadow seemed to bury them in blackness. Harry felt those eyes upon him. It spoke again - but no longer in Chefano's voice. Its words were uttered in a strange, sibilant whisper that Vincent recognized from the past.
'Attack Chefano and Frenchy,' said the deliberate voice. 'You will find weapons beside the stone steps.
The two men are within the meeting room. I shall handle the monster.'
The winches were released. With amazing quickness the mysterious figure in black released the prisoners. Jupe began to snarl. The hissing whistle silenced him. But as the men on the table raised themselves to a sitting position, the monster sensed that it had been deceived. With a hideous cry of rage, it sprang toward the cloaked being.
Harry saw the tall form merge into the shadows at the end of the room. The ape-man missed his goal.
'Hurry!' came the commanding whisper. 'Go!'
Jupe's sharp eyes detected the figure in the gloom. The ape-man, his arms extended wide, approached the shadowy form, to drive it toward the corner. Harry and the major were on the floor, hurrying toward the door as fast as their limbs would respond.
Glancing over his shoulder, Harry saw the black-robed shape elude the ape-man's grasp. With amazing speed it gained the stairway in the corner of the room; it vanished upward in the darkness, with the snarling monster in pursuit.
Down from the stairs, through the low-ceilinged room, echoed a hollow, mocking laugh.
It was a sinister laugh - a laugh more terrifying than the torture of the rack!
CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE FIGHT ON THE TOWER
CHEFANO and his evil accomplice, Frenchy, were completely surprised when their former prisoners appeared in the doorway of the meeting room. The two men were engaged in tense conversation over the table. They looked up when Vincent and the Englishman entered. Weakly, the crooks raised their hands at sight of the two pistols.
Harry ordered them outside the building. Major Weston had discovered a rope in the corner of the room. While Harry covered the captives with his gun, the Englishman bound them and toppled them to the ground. He put their guns in his own pockets.
Their work had been quickly done; now Harry thought of the torture chamber and the stairs to the tower.
The Shadow had rescued them; now he was at bay! Superman though he might be, this strange being of the night was human, and his retreat was cut off by the terrible ape-man, who possessed the strength of a gorilla!
The thought maddened Harry. He pictured a lifeless body on the winding stairs that led to the tower, with Jupe snarling above his fallen prey.
The Shadow's aid ran toward the ruin, and a cry came from his throat. Two forms had appeared upon the top of the old tower. One was tall and lithe in the moonlight; the other was a bulky, crouching figure.
Major Weston had heard Harry's cry. The Englishman raised his automatic. It was a long shot, but his aim was on the ape-man when Harry seized his arm. The two figures had closed together; they were locked in conflict!
The sight was weird and amazing. The Englishman uttered a cry of surprise as he saw the tall figure push the bulky one backward. It was unbelievable that the strange fighter in black could resist the power of the ape-faced monster.
Yet the conflict seemed equal. The ape-man was recovering now, and for a moment The Shadow appeared weakened. Then both forms stood motionless, apparently at ease. But the observers on the ground knew that each of them was using all his strength.
'I'm going up the stairs!' exclaimed Harry.
'Wait!' Major Weston's voice was commanding. 'You can do nothing on the tower. You would be hurled aside in that terrible struggle. Your place is here with me. If they separate for an instant we must shoot to kill the monster.'
They watched the battle helplessly. At times the figures swayed. Once the ape-man staggered backward, and the major's finger was on the trigger of his automatic. The next instant The Shadow had followed up his advantage. Again the grappling shapes were locked.
Minutes went by - terrible, tense minutes - while the weird fray continued beneath the glare of the risen moon. Then the strength of the ape-faced man became more apparent. It was Jupe who was fighting strongly now.
'There will be a break,' promised Weston, his voice betraying his anxiety. 'My aim is true, even at this distance. But I must wait until they are apart.'
'The monster is forcing the fight,' groaned Harry. 'We cannot wait long. It will be too late.'
AS if in answer to the gloomy prophecy, the two forms on the top of the tower moved steadily toward the parapet. For a tragic moment the figure of The Shadow seemed to lean over the edge. Then, imbued with sudden strength, it regained its former position. Yet the ape-man still held the advantage.
Again human strength began to yield as the power of the fiend increased. The Shadow's form seemed to collapse, going down beneath the bulk of the fierce monster. It reappeared, a twisted shape, half-thrust from the edge of the ruined tower.
Two long arms lost their clutch on the ape-man. They spread apart and grasped the low stone parapet.
The head and shoulders of The Shadow were projecting above the wall. The cloaked avenger was making his last fight for life!
Then came the sickening finish. The Shadow rose in one final effort. He staggered, arms wide, his black cloak fluttering in the night breeze. Weston's automatic thundered as Jupe stepped back for the spring, but the shot went wide. The ape-man merged with his faltering victim. The tall form was lifted upward.
Then it was head downward; the cloak draping on the parapet. The two figures sank as the monster crouched to throw its victim to the ground beneath.
A portion of the parapet gave way as the fighters flattened against it, and a living form fell with the shower of stones, the black robe winding about it as it crashed to its doom on the stones beneath. A crouching figure was silhouetted on the tower.
The Englishman's eyes had rested for an instant upon the shapeless mass that lay among the ruins of the old building. Instinctively he had followed its fatal fall. Now he saw the sinister form by the broken parapet, but as he fired a well-aimed shot, the figure disappeared.
Harry Vincent was clambering over the ruined building, risking his limbs amid the loose stones. His companion followed him. Their one thought was for the man who had fallen. Perhaps through some miracle The Shadow was
