Adventure Magazine Cover — page 145: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Strangler one awakening from an ugly dream, and that lean figure so near his own danced back, out of reach, then swooped down upon him. Blondie saw the old man’s uplifted arm descend, felt the stab of the needle through his shoulder, and in his mad terror he struck out with all the power his position would allow him. His maul-like fist caught the scientist on the point of the chin and the old man toppled backward. At the same instant the strangler’s strain- ed senses gave way, and felty blackness filled his mind and seemed to puff out into the room. He hadn’t fainted; he, Blondie Doyle, was as conscious of himself as he had ever been in his life, but that 1so- lating blackness seemed to have severed him by an infinite distance from the rest of the universe. Through this cloud he seemed to hear steps running, heard, as from an- other world, a door open. ‘Then all was silent. crass WHEN his eyes opened he was lying fer on the floor, staring up at a tube vans’ which gave out a blue- -green radiance. He turned slightly and groaned—his whole body ached and throbbed, and he saw that some one had bandaged his hand, and felt a pad pressing against the back of his neck. He remembered the old man’s terrible threat and the stab of the needle through his shoulder, and sat up suddenly with a scream. Some one behind him spoke quietly: “You'd best lie down for a while. You’ve been under quite a strain, and you’ve two bad acid burns. I’ve dressed them and you won’t suffer much inconvenience from them. You’ve laid the Professor out as limp as he’ll be at the last day—lie still while I see what I can do for him.” “But the needle!’ Blondie raved. ‘The old bloat said it was poison, ’n’ he got mein the shoulder afore I could land on him. Fer Gawd’s sake, mister, do something fer me afore I swells up and busts!”’ ‘His needle was as harmless as any other needle,” the voice behind Blondie assured him. The speaker came over and stood above him—it was the young man of the Gladstone bag, serene and gentle as if he were playing dominoes. “He was always a little off on such things, but I sterilized all of these playthings of his before he barred me from the house. I’ll cut the puncture open and clean it out with permanganate 709 presently, but you do not need to worry.” Blondie turned as the other left him, roll- ing painfully until he could see the oppo- site side of the room. The old man was lying on a blanket, his white hair and color- less skin livid and ghastly in the blue light of the laboratory. ‘“Be—be you sure he ain’t dead, boss?” Blondie demanded hoarsely, forgetting for a moment his own troubles. ‘“EHe’s not dead, although you gave him a bad tumble.” For a few moments the strangler lay watching the pair. Gradually a tinge of color came into the old man’s face, and his hands twitched. Then with a long sigh he turned his head and opened his eyes, staring for a while at the silent figure above him. Suddenly he sprang up and held out his hand joyously. “Why, Danny, boy!” he cried, “I must have gone to sleep at my bench! Is it morn- ing? Surely itis! Oh, my friend, my friend, I’ve had such dreams—but we’ve won, Danny! We’ve won the great prize! Listen! It was glucose that did it! Quite by acci- dent—in desperation, you might say—lI tried it. I meant to have sent you some of the gum as it came from the retort, but I must have fallen asleep.” The young man of the Gladstone bag smiled. “You sent me the gum, Professor,” he said gently. “And I came and found you —sleeping. I brought a man with me in case there was any little cleaning up to be done about the place. You have finished your work, my friend, and you must go for a long vacation.” He led the old man over to a chair and watched him sink into it. IV 2% THE scent of dewy rose-gardens “92 came to Blondie as he limped across the lawn and dropped down beside the hedge to put on his shoes. He paused to take from the inner pocket of his coat a letter, written on stiff linen paper and tucked into an open envelope. He had had it read to him, knew that it was addressed to the president of the Citizen’s National Bank and that it authorized that gentleman to see that the accompanying check for ten thousand dollars was paid to the bearer without question. COMICOOCKKS. CO