playing golf, going places-you're so lovely you could take your pick
among the men.'
She shrugged a little disdainfully. 'Such a life is dull-
ordinary-after a year I tired of it, and few women can climb
mountains or shoot big game, but the conquest of the unknown offers
the greatest adventure of all.'
Again her voice altered suddenly, and the inscrutable eyes which
gave her a strange, serious beauty, so fitting for a lady of the
Italian Renaissance, gleamed as before.
'Religions and moralities are man-made, fleeting and local; a
scandalous lapse from virtue in London may be a matter for the
highest praise in Hong Kong, and the present Archbishop of Paris
would be shocked beyond measure if it was suggested that he had
anything in common, beyond his religious office, with a Medieval
Cardinal. One thing and one thing only remains constant and
unchanging, the secret doctrine of the way to power. That is a thing
to work for, and if need be cast aside all inherent scruples for-as
I shall tonight.'
'Aren't you-just a bit afraid?' He stared at her solemnly.
'No, provided I follow the path which is set, no harm can come to
me.'
'But it is an evil path,' he insisted, marvelling at the change
which had come over her. It almost seemed as if it were a different
woman speaking or one who repeated a recitation, learned in a
foreign language, with all the appropriate expression yet not
understanding its true meaning, as she replied with a cynical little
smile.
'Unfortunately the followers of the Right Hand Path obsess
themselves only with the well-being of the Universe as a whole,
whereas those of the Left exercise their power upon living humans.
To bend people to your will, to cause them to fall or rise, to place
unaccountable obstacles in their path at every turn or smooth their
way to a glorious success-that is more than riches, more than
fame-the supreme pinnacle to which any man or woman can rise, and I
wish to reach it before I die.'
'Maybe-maybe.' Rex shook his head with a worried frown, 'But
you're young and beautiful-just breaking in on all the fun of
life-why not think it over for a year or two? It's horrible to hear
you talk as though you were a disillusioned old woman.'
Her mouth tightened still further. 'In a way I am-and for me,
waiting is impossible because, although in your ignorance I do not
expect you to believe it, as surely as the sun will set tonight I
shall be dead before the year is out.'


13

The Defeat of Rex Van Ryn

For a moment they sat in silence. The river flowed gently on; the
sun still dappled the lower branches of the willows and flecked the
water with points of light.
Gradually the fire died out of Tanith's eyes and she sank back
against the cushions of the canoe as Rex stared at her
incredulously. It seemed utterly impossible that there could be any
real foundation for her grim prophecy, yet her voice had held such
fatal certainty.
'It isn't true!' Rex seized her hand and gripped it as though, by
his own vitality, he would imbue her with continued life. 'You're
good for fifty years to come. That's only some criminal nonsense
this devil Mocata's got you to swallow.'
'Oh, you dear fool!' She took his other hand and pressed it
while, for a moment, it seemed as if tears were starting to her
eyes. 'If things were different I think I might like you enormously,
but I knew the number of my days long before I ever met Mocata, and
there is nothing which can be done to lengthen them by a single
hour.'
'Show me your hand,' he said suddenly. It was the only thing even
remotely connected with the occult of which Rex had any knowledge.
The year before he had ricked an ankle, while after Grizzly in the
Rockies, and had had to lie up for a week at a tiny inn where the
library consisted of less than a dozen battered volumes. A book on
Palmistry, which he had discovered among them, had proved a real
windfall and the study of it had whiled away many hours of his
enforced idleness.
As Tanith held out her hand he saw at once that it was of the
unusual psychic type. Very long, narrow and fragile, the wrist
small, the fingers smooth and tapering, ending in long, almond-
shaped nails. The length of the first, second and third fingers
exceeded that of the palm by nearly an inch, giving the whole a
beautiful but useless appearance. The top phalange of the thumb, he
noted, was slim and pointed, another sign of lack of desire to
grapple with material things.
'You see?' she turned it over showing him the palm. 'The Arabs
say that "the fate of every man is bound about his brow," and mine
is written here, for all who can, to read.'
Rex's knowledge of the subject was too limited for him to do much
but read character and general tendencies by the various shapes of
hands, but even he was startled by the unusual markings on the
narrow palm.
On the cushion of the hand the Mount of the Moon stood out firm
and strong, seeming to spread over and dominate the rest, a clear
sign of an exceedingly strong imagination, refinement and love of
beauty; but it was tinged with that rare symbol, the Line of
Intuition, giving, in connection with such a hand, great psychic
powers and a leaning towards mysticism of a highly dangerous kind. A
small star below the second finger, upon the Mount of Saturn, caused
him additional uneasiness and he looked in vain for squares which
might indicate preservation at a critical period. Yet worst of all
the Line of Life, more clearly marked than he would have expected,
stopped short with a horrifying suddenness at only a little over a
third of the way from its commencement, where it was tied to the
Line of Head.
He stared at it in silence, not knowing what to say to such
sinister portents, but she smiled lightly as she withdrew her hand.
'Don't worry please, but there is no appeal from the verdict of the
Stars and you will understand now why marriage -children-a lovely
home-all things connected with the future just mean nothing to me.'
'So that's the reason you let yourself get mixed up in this
horrible business?'
'Yes. Since I am to die so soon no ordinary emotion can stir me
any more. I look as though I were already a great way from it, and
what happens to my physical body matters to me not at all. Ten
months ago I began seriously to cultivate my psychic sense under
real instruction, and the voyages which I can make now into the
immensity of the void are the only things left to me which still
have power to thrill.'
'But, why in heaven's name involve yourself with Black Magic when
you might practise White?'
'Have I not told you? The adepts of the Right Hand Path concern
themselves only with the Great Work; the blending of the Microcosm
with the Macrocosm; a vague philosophic entity in which one can
witness no tangible results. Whereas, those of the Left practise
their Art upon human beings and can actually watch the working of
their spells.'
'I can't get over your wanting to attend this Satanic festival
tonight all the same.'
'It should be an extraordinary experience.'
'Any normal person would be terrified at what might happen.'
'Well, if you like, I will admit that I am just a little
frightened but that is only because it is rny first participation.
By surrendering myself I shall only suffer or enjoy, as most other
women do, under slightly different circumstances at some period of
then- life.'
'Slightly different!' he exclaimed, noting again the sudden
change of eyes and voice, as though she were possessed by some
sinister dual personality which appeared every time she spoke of
these horrible mysteries, and blotted out the frank, charming
individuality which was natural to her. 'This thing seems worlds
apart to me from picking a man you like and taking a sporting chance
about the rest.'
'No, in ancient Egypt every woman surrendered herself at the
temple before she married, in order that she might acquire virtue,
and sacred prostitution is still practised in many parts of the
world-for that is what this amounts to. Regarded from the personal
point of view, of course, it is loathsome. If I thought of it that
way I should never be able to go through with it at all, but I have
trained myself not to, and only think of it now as a ritual which
has to be gone through in order to acquire fresh powers.'
'It's mightly difficult for any ordinary person to see it that
way-though I suppose the human brain can shut out certain aspects of
a thing.' Rex paused, frowning: 'Still I was really speaking of the
hideous danger you will incur from placing yourself in the hands
of-well, the Devil if you like.'
She smiled. 'The Devil is only a bogey invented by the Early
Church to scare fools.'
'Let's say the Power of Darkness then.'
'You mean by receiving re-Baptism?'
'By attending this Sabbat at all. I imagined from your strange
name you had received re-Baptism already.'
'No, Tanith is the name by which I was Christened. It was my
mother's choice.'
Rex sat forward suddenly. 'Then you haven't-er-given yourself
over completely yet?'
'No, but I shall tonight, for if De Richleau has a tenth of the
knowledge which you say he has he will realise the appalling danger
to which I should be exposed if he detained me here, so he will let
me go immediately he arrives-and remember, you have promised not to
interfere with my freedom once he has seen me.'
'But listen,' he caught her hands again. 'It was bad enough that
you should have been going to take a part in this abominable
business as a graduate-it's a thousand times worse that you should
do it while there's still time to back out.'
'Mocata would not allow me to now, even if I had the inclination,
but you are so nice it really distresses me that you should worry
so. The Satanic Baptism is only an old-fashioned and rather
barbarous ritual, but it will give me real status among adepts, and
no possible harm can come to me as long as I do not deviate from the
Path which must be followed by all members of the Order.'
'You're wrong-wrong-wrong,' Rex insisted boldly. 'De Richleau was
explaining the real horror of this thing to me last night. This
promise of strange powers is only a filthy trap. At your first
Christening your Godparents revoked the Devil and all his Works.
Once you willingly rescind that protection, as you'll have to do,
something awful will take possession of you and force you into doing
its will, an Earthbound Spirit or an Elemental I think he called
it.'
She shrugged. There are ways of dealing with Elementals.' 'Aw,
hell. Why can't I make you understand!' He wrung his hands together
desperately. 'It's easy to see they haven't called on you to do any
real devilry yet. They've just led you on by a few demonstrations
and encouraging your crystal gazing, but they will-once you're a
full member-and then you'll be more scared than ever to refuse, or
find "it's just impossible under the influence of this thing that
will get hold of you.'
'I'm sorry, but I don't believe you. It is I who will make use of
them-not they of me, and quite obviously you don't know what you are
talking about.'
'The Duke does,' he insisted, 'and he says that you can still get
free as long as you haven't been actually re-baptised, but after
that all holy protection is taken from you. Why else d'you think we
took a chance of breaking up that party last night -if not to try
and save Simon from the self-same thing.'
A queer light came into Tanith's eyes. 'Yet Mocata willed him to
return so he will receive his nom-du-Diable after all tonight.'
'Don't you be too certain. I've a hunch we'll save him yet.' Rex
spoke with a confidence he was very far from feeling.
'And how do you propose to set about it?' she asked with a quick
intuition that by some means she might utilise this factor to
facilitate her own escape.
'Ah! that's just the rub,' he admitted. 'You see we thought maybe
you'd know his whereabouts and I'll be frank about it. That's the
reason I went round to Claridges this morning, to see if I couldn't
get you down here some way so as De Richleau could question you
although I should have called on you anyway for a very different
reason. Still you didn't even know Mocata had taken Simon off us
till you spoke to the old woman on the wire, so it's pretty obvious
you don't know where he is. I believe you could give us a line on
Mocata though-if you choose to.'
'I was under the impression that it was at his house that the
party where we met was given.'
'No, that was Simon's place, though I gather Mocata's been living
there with him for some little time. He must have a hideout of his
own somewhere though and that's what we want to get at.'
'I know nothing of his ordinary life, and if I did, I do not
think I should be inclined to tell you of it, but why are you so
interested in this Mr. Aron? That was a lie you told me about your
needing him because you are also searching for the Talisman of Set.'
'He's my very greatest friend, and more than that he risked his
life to come out to Soviet Russia and look for me, when I was gaoled
for poking my nose into the "Forbidden Territory," a few years back.
The Duke came too, and he looks on Simon almost as a son.'
'That does not give you any right to interfere if, like myself,
he elects to devote himseif to the occult.'
'Maybe, as long as he confines himself to the harmless side, but
De Richleau says the game that you and he are playing is the most
hideously dangerous that's ever been known to mankind, and after
what I saw last night I certainly believe him.'
'Simon Aron did not strike me as a fool. He must be aware of the
risks which he is running and prepared to face them for the
attainment of his desires.'
'I doubt it-I doubt if you do either. Anyhow, for the moment,
we're regarding him as a person who's not quite all there, and
nothing you can name is going to stop the Duke and me from saving
him from himself if we get half a chance.'
Tanith felt that now was the time to show the bait in the trap
which she had been preparing. So she leant forward and said, slowly:
'If you really are so mad as to wish for a chance to pit yourselves
against Mocata, I think I could give it to you.'
'Could you?' Rex jerked himself upright and the water gurgled a
little at the sides of the canoe.
'Yes, I don't know if he has a house of his own anywhere, but I
do know where he will be this evening-and your friend Simon will be
with him.'
'You mean the Sabbat eh? And you'll give me the name of the place
where it's being held?'
'Oh, no.' The sunlight gleamed golden on her hair as she shook
her head. 'But I'll let you take me to it, if you agree to let me go
free once we are there.'
'Nothing doing,' he said bluntly.
'I see,' she smiled, 'you are afraid of Mocata after all. Well,
that doesn't surprise me because he has ample means of protecting
himself against anything you could attempt against him. That is why,
of course, I feel that, providing the place is not given away
beforehand, he would prefer me to let you know it than detain me
here-I'm quite honest you see, but evidently you are not so
confident of yourself or interested in your friend as I thought.'
Rex was thinking quickly. Nothing but an actual order from the
Duke, based on his assurance that Mocata might punish Tanith in some
terrible manner if she failed to appear, would have induced him to
let her go to the Sabbat, but on the other hand this was a real
chance to reach Simon, in fact, the only one that offered. 'Do you
require that I should actually hand you over to Mocata when we get
there?' he asked at length.
'No. If you take me to the place that will be sufficient, but
there must be no question of gagging me or tying me up.'
In an agony of indecision he pondered the problem again. Dare he
risk taking Tanith within the actual sphere of Mocata's influence?
Yet he would have the Duke with him, so surely between them they
would be able to restrain her from taking any part in the ceremony,
and it was impossible to throw away such a chance of saving Simon.
'I'm not giving any promise to let you join the party,' Rex said
firmly.
'Well, I intend to do so.'
'That remains to be seen-but I'll accept your offer on those
conditions.'
She nodded, confident now that once they reached their
destination Mocata would exercise his powers to relieve her of
restraint.
'The place must be about seventy miles from here,' she told him,
'and I should like to be there by sundown, so we ought to leave here
by six.'
'Wouldn't it be possible to start later?' A worried frown clouded
Rex's face. 'The truth is, that message Max gave us before lunch was
phony-just a part of my plan for keeping you here. I never did count
on De Richleau arriving much before the tune you say we ought to
start-and I'd just hate to leave without him.'
Tanith smiled to herself. This was an unexpected piece of luck.
She had only met the Duke for a moment the night before, but his
lean, cultured face and shrewd, grey eyes had impressed her. She
felt that he would prove a far more difficult opponent that this
nice, bronzed young giant, and if she could get away without having
to face him after all, it would be a real relief, so she made a wry
face and proceeded to elaborate her story.
'I'm sorry, but there are certain preparations which have to be
made before the gathering. They begin at sunset, so J must be
at-well, the place to which we are going by a quarter past eight. If
I arrive later I shall not be eligible to participate-so I will not
go at all.'
'In that case I guess I'm in your hands. Anyhow, now we've
settled things, let's get back to the house.' Rex untied the canoe
and, setting the motor in motion, steered back to the landing stage.
His first thought was to inform De Richleau of the bargain that
he had made, but after pleading once more with the officials at the
British Museum to have the Duke sought for, he learned that he was
no longer there, and when he got through to the Curzon Street flat
the servants could tell him nothing of De Richleau's whereabouts, so
it was impossible to expedite his arrival.
For a time Rex strolled up and down the lawn with Tanith, then
round the lovely garden, while he talked again of the places that
they had both visited abroad and tried to recapture something of the
gaiety which had marked their drive down from London in the morning.
Max brought them tea out onto the terrace, and afterwards they
played the electric gramophone, but even that failed to relieve Rex
of a steadily deepening anxiety that the Duke might not arrive in
time.
The shadows of the lilacs and laburnums began to lengthen on the
grass. Tanith went upstairs to tidy herself, and when she came down
asked if he could find her a road map. He produced a set and for a
time she studied two of them in silence, then she refolded them and
said quietly: 'I know so little of the- English country but I am
certain now that I can find it. We must be leaving soon.'
It was already six o'clock, and he had put off shaking a cocktail
until the last moment in order to delay their departure as long as
possible. Now, he rang for ice as he said casually; 'Don't fuss,
I'll get you there by a quarter after eight.'
'I'll give you five miniutes-no more.
'Well, listen now. Say De Richleau fails to make it. Won't you
give me a break? Let me know the name of the place so as I can leave
word for him to follow?'
She considered for a moment. 'I will give you the name of a
village five miles from it where he can meet you on one condition.'
'Let's hear it.'
'That neither of you seek to restrain me in any way once we reach
our destination.'
'No. I'll not agree to that.'
'Then I certainly will not give you any information which will
enable your friend to appear on the scene and help you.'
'I'll get him there some way-don't you worry.'
'That leaves me a free hand to prevent you if I can-doesn't it?'
As he swallowed his cocktail she glanced at the clock. 'It's ten
past now, so unless you prefer not to go we must start at once.'
Consoling himself with the thought that De Richleau could have
got no more out of her even if he had questioned her himself, Rex
led her out and settled her in the Rolls then, before starting up
the engine, he listened intently for a moment, hoping that even yet
he might catch the low, steady purr of the big Hispano which would
herald the Duke's eleventh hour arrival, but the evening silence
brooded unbroken over the trees and lane. Reluctantly he set the car
in motion and as they ran down the gravel sweep, Tanith said
quietly, 'Please drive to New-bury.'
'But that's no more than twenty miles from here!'
'Oh, I will give you further directions when we reach it,' she
smiled, and for a little time they drove in silence through the
quiet byways until they entered the main Bath Road at Theale.
At Newbury, she gave fresh instructions. 'To Hungerford now,' and
the fast, low touring Rolls sped out of the town eating up another
ten miles of the highway to the west.
'Where next?' he asked, scanning the houses of the market town
for its most prosperous-looking inn and mentally registering The
Bear. It was just seven o'clock-another few miles and they would be
about half-way to the secret rendezvous. He did not dare to stop in
the town in case she gave him the slip and hired another car or went
on by train, but when they were well out in the country again he
meant to telephone the Duke, who must have arrived at Pangbourne by
this time, and urge him to follow as far as Hungerford at once-then
sit tight at The Bear until he received further information.
Tanith was studying the map. 'There are two ways from here,' she
said, 'but I think it would be best to keep to the main road as far
as Maryborough.'
A few miles out of Hungerford the country became less populous
with only a solitary farmhouse here and there, peaceful and placid
in the evening light. Then these, too, were left behind and they
entered a long stretch of darkening woodlands, the northern fringe
of Savernake Forest.
Both were silent, thinking of the night to come which was now so
close upon them and the struggle of wills that must soon take place.
Rex brought the car down to a gentle cruising speed and watched the
road-sides intently. At a deserted hairpin bend, where a byway
doubled back to the south-east, he found just what he wanted, a
telephone call-box.
Turning the car off the main road he pulled up, and noted with
quick appreciation that they had entered one of the most beautiful
avenues he had even seen. As far as the eye could see it cut clean
through the forest, the great branches meeting overhead in the
sombre gloom of the falling night, it looked like the nave of some
titanic cathedral deserted by mankind; but he had no leisure to
admire it to the full, and stepping out, called to Tanith over his
shoulder: 'Won't be a minute-just want to put through'a call.'
She smiled, but the queer look that he had seen earlier in the
day came into her eyes again. 'So you mean to trick me and let De
Richleau know the direction we have taken?'
'I wouldn't call it that,' he protested. 'In order to get in
touch with Simon I bargained to take you to this place you're so
keen to get to, but I reserved the right to stop you taking any part
yourself, and I need the Duke to help me.'
'And I agreed, because it was the only way in which I could get
away from Pangbourne, but I reserved the right to do all in my power
to attend the meeting. However,' she shrugged lightly, 'do as you
will.'
'Thanks.' Rex entered the box, spoke to the operator, and having
inserted the necessary coins, secured his number. Next minute he was
speaking to De Richleau. 'Hello! Rex here. I've got the girl and
she's agreed- Oh, Hell!'
He dropped the receiver and leapt out of the box. While his back
was turned Tanith had moved into the driver's seat. The engine
purred, the Rolls slid forward. He clutched frantically at the rear
mudguard but his fingers slipped and he fell sprawling in the road.
When he scrambled to his feet the long blue car was almost hidden by
a trail of dust as it roared down the avenue, and while he was still
cursing his stupidity, it disappeared into the shadows of the
forest.


14

The Duke de Richleau Takes the Field

At 7.20. Rex was through again to the Duke, gabbling out the
idiotic way in which he had allowed Tanith to fool him and leave him
stranded in Savernake Forest.
At 7.22. De Richleau had heard all he had to tell and was
ordering him to return to Hungerford as best he could, there to
await instructions at The Bear.
At 7.25. Tanith was out of the Forest and on a good road again,
some five miles south-east of Marlborough, slowing down to consult
her map.
At 7.26. The Duke was through to Scotland Yard.
At 7.28. Rex was loping along at a steady trot through the
gathering darkness, praying that a car would appear from which he
could ask a lift.
At 7.30. De Richleau was speaking to the Assistant Commissioner
at the Metropolitan Police, a personal friend of his. 'It's not the
car that matters,' he said, 'but the documents which are in it.
Their immediate recovery is of vital importance to me and I should
consider it a great personal favour if any reports which come in may
be sent at once to the Police Station at Newbury.'
At 7.32. Tanith was speeding south towards Tidworth, having
decided that to go round Salisbury Plain via Amesbury would save her
time on account of the better roads.
At 7.38. Scotland Yard was issuing the following communique by
wireless: 'All stations. Stolen. A blue touring Rolls, 1934 model.
Number OA 1217. Owner, Duke de Richleau. Last seen in Savernake
Forest going south-east at 19 hours 15, but reported making for
Marlborough. Driven by woman. Age twenty-three-attractive
appearance-tall, slim, fair hair, pale face, large hazel eyes,
wearing light green summer costume and small hat. Particulars
required by Special Department. Urgent. Reports to Newbury,'
At 7.42. De Richleau received a telephone call at Pang-bourne.
'Speakin' fer Mister Clutterbuck,' said the voice, 'bin tryin' ter
get yer this lars' arf hour, sir. The green Daimler passed through
Camberley goin' south just arter seven o'clock.'
At 7.44. Tanith was running past the military camp at Tid-worth
still going south.
At 7.45. Rex was buying a second-hand bicycle for cash at three
times its value from a belated farm-labourer.
At 7.48. The Duke received another call. 'I have a special from
Mr. Clutterbuck,' said a new voice. 'The Yellow Sports Sunbeam
passed Devizes going south at 7.42.'
At 7.49. Tanith reached the Andover-Amesbury road and turned west
along it.
At 7.54. De Richleau climbed Into his Hispano. 'My night
glasses-thank you,' he said as he took a heavy pair of binoculars
from Max. 'Any messages which come in for me up to 8.25 are to.be
relayed to the police at Newbury, after that to Mr. Van Ryn at the
Bear Inn, Hungerford, up till 8.40, and from then on to the police
at Newbury again.'
At 7.55. Tanith was approaching a small cross-roads on the
outskirts of Amesbury. A Police-Sergeant who had left the station
ten minutes earlier spotted the number of her car, and stepping out
into the road called on her to halt. She swerved violently, missing
him by inches, but managed to swing the car into the by-road leading
north.
At 7.56. Rex was pedalling furiously along the road to Hungerford
with all the strength of his muscular legs.
At 7.58. Tanith, livid with rage that Rex should have put the
police on to her as though she were a common car thief, had spotted
another policeman near the bridge in Bulford village. Not daring to
risk his holding her up in the narrow street, she switched up
another side-road leading north-east
At 7.59. The Amesbury Police-Sergeant dropped off a lorry beside
the constable on duty at the main cross-roads of the town and warned
him to watch out for a Blue Rolls, number
OA 1217, recklessly driven by a young woman who was wanted by the
Yard.
At 8.1. Tanith had slowed down and was wondering desperately if
she dared risk another attempt to pass through Amesbury. Deciding
against it she ran on, winding in and out through the narrow lanes,
to the north-eastward.
At 8.2. Rex had abandoned his bicycle outside the old Alms-houses
at Froxfield and was begging a lift from the owner of a rickety Ford
who was starting into Hungerford.
At 8.3. The Amesbury Police-Sergeant was reporting to Newbury the
appearance of the 'wanted' Rolls.
At 8.4. Tanith pulled up, hopelessly lost in a tangle of twisting
lanes.
At 8.6, De Richleau swung the Hispano on to the main Bath Road.
His cigar tip glowed red in the twilight as he sank his chin into
the collar of his coat and settled down to draw every ounce out of
the great powerful car.
At 8.8. Tanith had discovered her whereabouts on the map and
found that she had been heading back towards the And-over Road.
At 8.5. The Amesbury Police-Sergeant was warning the authorities
at Andover to keep a look-out for the stolen car in case it headed
back in that direction.
At 8.10. Tanith had turned up a rough track leading north through
some woods in the hope that it would enable her to get past the
Military Camp at Tidworth without going through it.
At 8.12. Rex was hurrying into The Bear Inn at Hungerford.
At 8.14. Tanith was stuck again, the track having come to an
abrupt end at a group of farm buildings.
At 8.17. The Duke was hurtling along the straight, about five
miles east of Newbury.
At 8.19. Tanith was back at the entrance of the track and turning
into a lane that led due east.
At 8.20. The Amesbury Police-Sergeant left the station again. He
had completed his work of warning Salisbury, Devizes, Warminster and
Winchester to watch for the stolen Rolls.
At 8.21, Tanith came out on the main Salisbury-Marl -borough road
and, realising that there was nothing for it but to chance being
held up at Tidworth, turned north.
At 8.22. Rex had sunk his second tankard of good Berkshire ale
and took up his position in the doorway of The Bear to watch for the
Duke.
At 8.23. Tanith, possessed now, it seemed, by some inhuman glee,
chortled with laughter as a Military Policeman leapt from the road
to let her flash past the entrance of Tidworth Camp.
At 8.24. De Richleau entered Newbury Police Station and learned
that the Blue Rolls had been sighted in Amesbury half an hour
earlier.
At 8.25. Tanith had pulled up, a mile north of Tidworth, and was
studying her map again. She decided that her only hope bf reaching
the secret rendezvous now lay in taking the by-roads across the
northern end of Salisbury Plain.
At 8.26. The Duke was reading two messages which had been handed
to him by the Newbury Police. One said: 'Green Daimler passed
through Basingstoke going west at 7.25. Max per Clutterbuck,' and
the other, 'Green Daimler passed through Andover going west at 8.0.
Max per Clutterbuck.' He nodded, quickly summing up the position to
himself. 'Green is heading west through Amesbury by now, and Blue
was seen making in the same direction, while Yellow took the other
route and is coming south from Devizes-most satisfactory so far.' He
then turned to the Station Sergeant: 'I should be most grateful if
you would have any further messages which may come for me relayed to
Amesbury. Thank you-Good night.'
At 8.27. Tanith had reached a cross-road two miles north of
Tidworth and turning west took a dreary wind-swept road which
crosses one of the most desolate parts of the Plain. Dusk had come
and with it an overwhelming feeling that whatever happened she must
be present at the meeting. The fact that she was about seventeen
miles farther from her destination than she had been at Amesbury did
not depress her, for she had misled Rex as to the vital necessity of
her being there by sunset, and the actual Sabbat did not begin until
midnight.
At 8.32. Rex was taking a message over the telephone of The Bear
at Hungerford.
At 8.35. Tanith was passing the Aerodrome at Upavon, and forced
to slow down owing to the curving nature of the road
At 8.37. De Richleau's Hispano roared into Hungerford, and Rex,
who had resumed his position in the doorway of The Bear, ran out to
meet it. 'Any messages?' the Duke asked as he scrambled in.
'Yep-Max called me. A bird named Clutterbuck says a Yellow
Sunbeam passed through Westbury heading south at five minutes past
eight.'
'Good,' nodded the Duke, who already had the car in motion again.
At 8.38. Tanith was free of the twisting patch of road by Upavon
and out on the straight across the naked Plain once more. If only
she could keep clear of the police, she felt that she would be able
to reach the meeting-place in another forty-five minutes. A wild,
unnatural exaltation drove her on as the Blue Rolls ate up the miles
towards the west.
At 8.39. Rex was asking; 'What is all this about a Yellow Sunbeam
anyway? It was a Blue Rolls I got stung for,' And the Duke replied,
with his grey eyes twinkling: 'Don't worry about the Rolls. The
police saw your young friend with it in Amesbury a little after
eight. They will catch her for us you may be certain.'
At 8.40. The police at Newbury were relaying a message from Max
for the Duke to their colleagues at Amesbury.
At 8.41, De Richleau was saying: 'Don't be a fool, Rex. I only
said that I could not call in the police unless these people
committed some definite breach of the law. Car stealing is a crime,
so I have been able to utilise them in this one instance -that's
all.'
At 8.44. Two traffic policemen on a motor-cycle combination,
which had set out from Devizes a quarter of an hour before, spotted
the back number-plate of Blue Roils number OA 1217 as it switched to
the left at a fork road where they were stationed, but Tanith had
caught sight of them, and her headlights streaked away, cutting a
lane through the darkness to the south-westward.
At 8.45. The Hispano was rocking from side to side as it flew
round the bends of the twisting road south-west of Hungerford. The
Duke had heard Rex's account of the way Tanith had tricked him but
refused to enlighten him about the Yellow Sunbeam. 'No, no,' he said
impatiently. 'I want to hear every single thing you learned from the
girl-I'll tell you my end later.'
At 8.46. The traffic policemen had their machine going all out
and were in full cry after the recklessly driven Rolls,
At 8.47, The Police at Newbury were relaying a second message
from Max for the Duke to their colleagues at Ames-bury.
At 8.48, Tanith saw the lights of Easterton village looming up in
the distance across the'treeless grassland as she hurtled south-
westward in the Rolls.
At 8.49. The traffic policeman in the side-car said: 'Steady,
Bill-we'll get her in a minute.'
At 8.50. The Hispano had passed the cross-roads nine miles south-
west of Hungerford and come out on to the straight. De Richleau had
now heard everything of importance which Rex had to tell and replied
abruptly to his renewed questioning: 'For God's sake don't pester me
now. It's no easy matter to keep this thing on the road when we're
doing eighty most of the time.'
At 8.51. Tanith clutched desperately at the wheel of the Rolls as
with screaming tyres it shot round the comer of the village street.
The police siren in her ears shrilled insistently for her to halt.
She took another bend practically on two wheels, glimpsed the
darkness of the open country again for a second then, with a
rending, splintering crash, the off-side mudguards tore down a
length of wooden palings. The car swerved violently, dashed up a
steep bank then down again, rocking and plunging, until it came to
rest, with a sickening thud, against the back of a big barn.
At 9.8. The Duke, with Rex beside him, entered Amesbury Police
Station and the two messages which had been 'phoned through from
Newbury were handed to him. The first read: 'Green Daimler passed
through Amesbury going west at 8.15,' and the second, 'Yellow
Sunbeam halted Chilbury 8.22.' Both were signed 'Max per
Clutterbuck.'
As De Richleau slipped them into his pocket an Inspector came out
of an inner room. 'We've got your car, sir,' he said cheerfully.
'Heard the news only this minute. Two officers spotted the young
woman at the roads south of Devizes and gave chase. She made a
mucker of that bad bend in Easterton village. Ran it through a
garden and up a steep bank.'
'Is she hurt?' asked Rex anxiously.
'No, sir-can't be. Not enough to prevent her hopping out and
running for it. I reckon it was that bank that saved her and the car
too-for I gather it's not damaged anything to speak of.'
'Has she been caught?' inquired the Duke.
'Not yet, sir, but I expect she will be before morning.'
As De Richleau nodded his thanks, and spread out a map to find
the village of Chilbury, the desk telephone shrilled. The constable
who answered it scribbled rapidly on a pad and then passed the paper
over to him. 'Here's another message for you, sir.'
Rex glanced over the Duke's shoulder and read, 'Green Daimler
halted Chilbury 8.30. Other cars parked in vicinity and more
arriving. Will await you cross-roads half a mile south of village.
Clutterbuck.'
De Richleau looked up and gave a low chuckle. 'Got them!' he
exclaimed. 'Now we can talk.'
At 9.14. They were back in the car.


15

The Road to the Sabbat

The big Hispano left the last houses of Amesbury behind and took
the long, curving road across the Plain to the west. De Richleau,
driving now at a moderate pace, was at last able to satisfy Rex's
curiosity.
'It is quite simple, my dear fellow. Immediately I learned from
you that Madame D'Urfe was leaving Claridges for the Sabbat at four
o'clock, I realised that in her we had a second line of inquiry.
Having promised to meet you at Pangbourne, I couldn't very well
follow her myself, so I got in touch with an ex-superintendent of
Scotland Yard named Clutterbuck, who runs a Private Inquiry Agency.'
'But I thought you said we must handle this business on our own,'
Rex protested.
That is so, and Clutterbuck has no idea of the devilry that we
are up against. I only called him in for the purpose of tracing cars
and watching people, which is his normal business. After I had
explained what I wanted to him he arranged for are highly potent
against evil my friend, and if we can only secure Simon they will
prove a fine protection for him. Here, take this crucifix.'
'What'll I do with it?' Rex asked, admiring for a moment the
beautiful carving on the sacred symbol.
'Hold it in your hand from the moment we go over this wall, and
before your face if we come upon any of these devilish people.'
While De Richleau was speaking, he had taken a little plush box
from the suitcase, and out of it a rosary from which dangled a
small, gold cross. Reaching up, he hung it about Rex's neck,
explaining as he did so: 'Should you drop the big one, or if it is
knocked from your hand by some accident, this will serve as a
reserve defence. In addition, I want you to set another above a
horse-shoe in your aura.'
'How d'you mean?' Rex frowned, obviously puzzled.
'Just imagine if you can that you are actually wearing a horse-
shoe surmounted by a crucifix on your forehead. Think of it as
glowing there in the darkness an inch or so above your eyes. That is
an even better protection than any ordinary material symbol, but it
is difficult to concentrate sufficiently to keep it there without
long practice, so we must wear the sign as well.' The Duke placed a
similar rosary round his own neck and took two small phials from the
open case. 'Mercury and Salt,' he added. 'Place one in each of your
breast pockets!'
Rex did as he was bid. 'But why are we wearing crucifixes when
you put a swastika on Simon before?' he asked.
'I was wrong. That is the symbol of Light in the East, where I
learned what little I know of the Esoteric Doctrine. There, it would
have proved an adequate barrier, but here, where Christian thoughts
have been centred on the Cross for many centuries, the crucifix has
far more potent vibrations.'
He took up the bottJe and went on: 'This is holy water from
Lourdes, and with it I shall seal the nine openings of your body
that no evil may enter it at any one of them. Then you must do the
same for me.'
With swift gestures, the Duke made the sign of the cross in holy
water upon Rex's eyes, nostrils, lips, etc., and then Rex performed
a similar service for him.
De Richleau picked up the other crucifix and shut the case. 'Now
we can start,' he said. 'I only wish that we had a fragment of the
Host apiece. That is the most powerful defence of all, and with it
we might walk unafraid into hell itself. But it can only be obtained
by a layman after a special dispensation, and I had no time to plead
my case for that today.'
The night was fine and clear, but only a faint starlight lit the
surrounding country, and they felt rather than saw the rolling
slopes of the Plain which hemmed in the village and the house, where
they were set in a sheltered dip. The whole length of the high stone
wall was fringed, as far as they could see, by the belt of trees,
and through their thick, early-summer foliage no glimpse of light
penetrated to show the exact position of the house.
Since no sound broke the stillness-although a hundred people were
reported to be gathered there-they judged the place to be somewhere
in the depths of the wood at a good distance from the wall; yet
despite that, as they walked quickly side by side down the chalky
lane, they spoke only in whispers, lest they disturb the strange
stillness that brooded over that night-darkened valley.
At length they found the thing that they were seeking, a place
where the old wall had crumbled and broken at the top. A pile of
masonry had fallen into the lane, making a natural step a couple of
feet in height, and from it they found no difficulty in hoisting
themselves up into the small breach from which it had tumbled.
As they slipped down the other side, they paused for a moment,
peering through the great tree-trunks, but here on the inside of the
wall beneath the wide-spreading branches of century-old oaks and
chestnuts they were in pitch darkness, and could see nothing ahead
other than the vague outline of the
trees.
'In manus tuas, domine,' murmured the Duke, crossing himself;
then holding their crucifixes before them they moved forward
stealthily, their feet crackling the dry twigs with a faint snapping
as they advanced.
After a few moments the darkness lightened and they came out on
the edge of a wide lawn. To their left, two hundred yards away, they
saw the dim, shadowy bulk of a rambling old house, and through a
shrubbery which separated them from it, faint chinks of light coming
from the ground floor windows. Now, too, they could hear an
indistinct murmur, which betrayed the presence of many people.
Keeping well within the shadow of the trees, they moved
cautiously along until they had passed the shrubbery and could get a
clear view of the low, old-fashioned mansion. Only the ground-floor
windows showed lights and these were practically obscured by heavy
curtains. The upper stories were dark and lifeless.
Still in silence, and instinctively agreeing upon their
movements, the two friends advanced again and began to make a circle
of the house. On the far side they found the cars parked just as
Clutterbuck had described, upon a gravel sweep, and counted up to
fifty-seven of them.
'By Jove,' Rex breathed. 'This lot would rejoice an automobile
salesman's heart.'
The Duke nodded. Not more than half a dozen out of the whole
collection were ordinary, moderately-priced machines. The rest bore
out De Richleau's statement that the practitioners of the Black Art
in modern times were almost exclusively people of great wealth. A
big silver Rolls stood nearest to them; beyond it a golden Bugatti.
Then a supercharged Mercedes, another Rolls, an Isotta Fraschini
whose bonnet alone looked as big as an Austin Seven, and so the line