The Black Master

CHAPTER XX. THE MASTER MAKES TERMS

THE bottom of the pit moved upward. It was the flat lift of a small elevator. Upon it lay the body of the man in the black cloak.

He was motionless at first, but as the elevator reached the top of the pit, he stirred slightly. He was too weak for concentrated action.

The front of the window alcove opened. The room was semidark and a form bent over the body of The Shadow. Then the mattress upon which the semiconscious man was lying became a wheeled vehicle.

It moved forward, a noiseless, rubber-wheeled truck. It was pushed through the smaller room, into the apartment with the hanging curtains. There, in the center of the room, the black-cloaked form was rolled upon the floor.

The helpless man did not move for a while. Then he stirred and rose to a sitting position. His black cloak spread and covered his legs.

He had the appearance of a half-formed man, growing through the black carpet of the room.

The dim light changed. It became a wavering blue — a fantastic light in which the man in the black cloak seemed strangely unreal. Beneath that light, his figure cast no shadow!

There was a motion in the curtain at the end of the room. The Shadow rose to his feet. He faced the spot in front of him.

Then came the illusion of a bulging curtain — a black form that had no shape of its own. A white, blurred face appeared — even the keen eyes of The Shadow could not observe its features.

"At last!" came the monotonous voice of The Black Master. "At last we meet!"

The Shadow did not respond.

"You are here" — said The Black Master — "here to do my bidding!"

There was an answer now. A low, mocking laugh came from beneath the broad black hat. It was a laugh of scorn and defiance, a challenge to the man who called himself The Master.

Never — even in his moments of greatest triumph — had The Shadow laughed so tauntingly. The sound reverberated through the room. The billowy curtains seemed to ripple as the echoes resounded.

"You laugh now," said The Black Master. "Later, we shall learn if you have cause to laugh!"

The blue lights trembled and cast their uncanny glow. The Shadow remained defiant and undisturbed.

"In this room," said The Master, "I have met men who have chosen to live. I have met some who have chosen to die. Which do you choose?"

There was no answer.

"One man," he continued, "chose neither life nor death. Is that your choice? Your silence will be regarded as assent!"

Still — no answer.

"Very well! You have made your choice!"

The shape advanced from the curtains, its arms extended. Before it hung the crystal globe that sparkled with vivid light. The blue illumination flickered. The form of The Shadow trembled from the shock. The man in the black cloak was riveted to the spot where he stood.

The charges of fascinating electricity shot back and forth through the mystic globe. It was the same test that had dazzled Harry Vincent and had destroyed his will. Now it came in much greater degree, a whirling, sparkling mass of terrifying brightness.

Closer and closer moved the globe, until it pressed against the rim of the broad-brimmed hat. The Shadow wavered. He seemed about to fall. His form relaxed.

The brightness ceased. The blue lights no longer flickered. The globe, sparkling gently, moved back to the curtain and disappeared.

Again The Shadow laughed, with his same defiance. He had met the test of The Black Master and he had ridiculed it!

"You have withstood my power," said the voice from the curtain, "but that is not all. Wait!"

The curtains began to close, forming a smaller space in the center of the room. The blue lights flickered and The Shadow's form wavered.

His mind could resist all that the enemy had to offer, but his physical being could not withstand the currents that swept through his frame. He stood numbed and powerless. The curtains were close about him.

The blurred white face had vanished. Only a black shape remained, outlined against the front of the curtain. An arm came from the curtain. It reached forward and plucked the black hat from The Shadow's head.

A low sound of amazement came from the curtain when the face of The Shadow was revealed.

"The secret of The Shadow," came the monotonous voice. "At last it is understood! The man of many faces — with no face of his own!"

The hand replaced the hat upon The Shadow's head. The flickering of the lights was ended. The Shadow was free to act, with his enemy but a few feet away. He made no action.

He knew too well the powerful forces at the disposal of The Black Master. One false motion would mean instant death.

"Perhaps you wonder why I do not kill you," said The Black Master, in a low, unchanging voice. "I shall tell you why! You are the only living man whom I have not cared to kill!

"You have sought to ferret out my crimes. You have discovered some of them — but not all. Let me ask you — and you may reply if you wish. Why do you seek to destroy me?"

The Shadow laughed in a low, hissing tone.

"I seek to destroy you," he said, in a sibilant, whispering voice, "because you are a creature of crime! You have brought death upon those who have not deserved it!"

"You, too, have resorted to crime," replied The Black Master.

"Not unless the end has justified the means!"

"With me" — there was a chuckle from the curtain — "it is the means that justifies the end.

"You are the only man in all the world who is like myself. Why should we care for human life? To me, human beings are stupid, useless creatures, with which the earth is overburdened.

"I know no pity. You, too, are pitiless."

"Only when I meet those who deserve no pity."

"None deserve pity," came the voice from the curtain. "Those who seek pity are mere creatures.

"You would not ask for pity! Nor would I! There is only one emotion that I have ever known. That is vengeance!"

The speaker paused to let his final words impress themselves upon the listener. The Shadow made no expression of interest.

"I shall explain," continued the voice. "You — I take it from your actions — believe in justice. Yet you find it in your own way. Where the law does not suffice, you forget the law.

"I believe in justice. One deed that I committed was inspired by justice. That was the death of Hubert Banks.

"Once — long ago — I loved! He destroyed that love! The woman whom I had loved died because of his neglect.

"From then on, my life has been one of hate. I sought vengeance. I waited years to gain it. Then I destroyed him — inch by inch — until he died, a maniac, by his own hand! He knew the pangs of remorse when he died. That was justice.

"In order to destroy the man who deserved destruction, I required human tools. I chose those who were governed by greed and fear. When I had used them, I destroyed them. That, too, was justice!"

"Perhaps," agreed The Shadow. "And by your own measure, your destruction would be justice, also!"

The hidden man chuckled.

"Let us agree on that," he said. "But I have spoken enough on that subject. I shall now discuss you — The Shadow.

"In one-tenth of a second, you can lie dead before me — if I desire it. But I prefer that you should live. For one reason, only — that is because you are the only being that in my estimation is worthy of living. So life is yours — if you will take it."

"Upon what terms?" came The Shadow's challenging vice.

"Upon your word. I offer you companionship — all the power that I possess, with equality.

"If you do not choose it, I demand but one thing. Your promise that you will never molest me, nor interfere knowingly with my plans. Do you agree?"

"No!" replied The Shadow.

"Death is the alternative."

The Shadow laughed contemptuously. Again the weird sound of his mockery swept through those morbid surrounding.

"I shall give you opportunity to choose," said The Black Master sternly. "I shall place you where escape is impossible! There I shall come for your reply.

"You will have but one opportunity. In the meantime — taste of death!"

There was a terrific flare of light. A cloud of pungent smoke filled the room.

With the first burst of brightness, The Shadow crumpled and fell upon the floor, overpowered by a tremendous shock. For a moment he lay in view, a huddled, helpless form. Then came darkness.

The chuckle of The Black Master sounded hoarsely amid Stygian gloom.