Boy's Cinema (1930-31)

26 "PRINCE OF diamonds; (Continued from page 14.) kIiOuI. lie ciillod to the others, and ttotwccii them they lowered Rupert down out of siglit. Loluii stayed Hilently up above with tlie men, watch- ing and waiting. T, Rupert found himself in a small imdcrground cavern. It had been hewed out of gravel .soil, and had l)eon propped l)y cuttings from gum trees. Obviously if was a newly erected mine —probabl\ not more than ten years old. I For a feu minutes Rupert hacked away at the gravel wails, examining each pebble, and sorting out a pile in the middle of the floor. Every moment lie was becoming more and more cx- <;ited. (, Suddcnl\. forgetful of Li Fang's treachery, lie called to the men above. ( .''Smith!" he shouted. "Come down Ifere. This is the place !" I Smith descended. and his eyes gleamed as he saw the pile of pebbles Rupert had collected. Hastily produc- ing his hunting knife, he hacked away at a few, and caught the gleam of diamond beneath the rough surface. I "We'd better get up top again," said Rupert, suddenly remembering that he had now reached the critical 'stage of his mission. "I want to " i The words died in his throat as two liorrible shouts of pain reached his cars. One of the men above gasped out the words : , VThe black death!" He and Smith hauled themselves out of the mine, and a horrible sight met their gaze. Their companions lay on the ground writhing pitifully, and the shadow of death was on their face:;. Lolah sat indifferently on a nearby mound, her chin on her hands, gazing into space. I Rupert bent down over one of the men to see if there was anything he rould do. He was startled by a scream from Lolah. I '"Beware!" she cried. "He will kill J'OU !" I •. Rupert sti-aightcned his back abruptly, jerking his gun out of its liolster as he moved. He side-stepped W'ithout turning round, and caught [.someone's wrist as it swept past his .shoulder. It was Smith. "Swine!" shouted Rupert. "This is where you finish." The\ swayed backwards and forwards in a death grip. Suddenly Smith gave a yell and staggered backwards, his face ashen. With a crash lie fell to the grotmd. "The—l>la<k—death " he ga.sped, with his hist remaining Iireath. Rupert spun round, amazed at the suddenness of it all. He looked down at the dead man, and then transferred his gaze to Lohih, who was still sitting some distance away. Apparently she had not moved. ' "This is ghastly." he cried hoarsely. "We might be the next to go." Calmly the half-caste girl shook her head. "No." slie said indifTevcntly. "You see this?" From the folds of her dress .she produced a long, tliin tube. "This is the black death—a poison that acts ((iiicklv and siiroly. They would have Hepti-iiilnT Gth, 19:i(t. BOY'S CINEMA killi'd you but for the darts that come out of here." Rupert passed liis hand wearily over his brow. A blowpipe ! This girl, who had followed him into the depths of the jungle just because he had called her pretty, had saved his life ! The thought left him numb, dazed. With an effort he pulled himself to- gether. Li Fang's treachery had been proved to him beyond all doubt. Now must come the time of reckoning. "Come, Lolah," ho said gently. "We'll collect all the gems there are iind get back. The time has come for me to take my revenge." "On Li Fang?" she asked. "No. On a man Ijack in my own country—a man and a woman !" Just Deserts. B\('K in Endon Castle, Craylc was. having a bad time. Ever since Rupert had gone away Eve had l>ecn like a woman dead. She spurned liim every time she saw him. In spite of the fact that she was his wife, she avoided him always. That was not Crayle's only trouble. Someone was flooding the markets with diamonds. He had, only a few months previously, bought large stocks of the precious stones at a big price. A mysterious in- dividual who said he was the agent of the Prince of Penang had offered Crayle a quantity of the gems, and Crayle had taken them because they weic of .such excellent quality. No sooner had he paid for them, using ahno-st the whole of his capital to do so, than he found it was impossible to sell them again. Every buyer in the country was getting the same kind of gems for a considerably lower price. In vain Crayle tried to undersell. His competitor dropped his price lower still. The battle of finance lasted for a month. At the end of that time Crayle was ruined, and on the verge of bank- ruptcy. He returned to Endon Castle one day with disgrace staring him in the face. Whoever had been responsible for his downfall had done his work thoroughly. The career of Gilbert Crayle was ended. Williams, who had still kept on at the Castle at Eve's request, announced a visitor. The visitor had given the name of "The Prince of Penang." Tlie mysterious personage strode into the room—the self-same library in which Crayle had brought his charge of theft against the man who had gone away. Crayle stared at hiin in amazement. He lubbed his eyes and stared again. "Rupert Endon!" he exclaimed. "You—the Prince of Penang!" Rupert smiled. "What is in a name?'' he asked care- les.sly. "In Penang itself they call me Captain Ruin. An appropriate title, isn't it ? I merely used the other name .so that you wouldn't know who it was fighting J'OU." He sat down in a chair and lit a cigarette. "Well, Crayle, how do you like the situation now?". "You fiend!" Crayle gasped. "You infernal fiend!" "Not at all!" Rupert puffed clouds of smoke ceilingwards. "Six j-ears ago you did the same to me that I have now done to you. It was a compliment to your power, Crayle, that it took me so long. Ry the way, where is Eve?" He spoke indifferently, but Crayle was aware of the hidden eagerness in his Every Tuesday "I don't know," he replied shortly. "She's in the castle somewhere, I sup- pose." Williams entered, and bowed defer- entially to Rupert. "There is a young pereon outside, Mr. Rupert," he said. "She says she is accompanying you." "Oh, yes! That will be Lolah. I left her in my car." He looked at Crayle inquiringly, but Crayle made no respon.se. "Tell her to come in," he continued. "I'm sure Mr. Crayle will not mind." Lolah entered the room nervously. All her life had been spent in half-primitive- ne.5s, and she had never seen before the luxury of a wealthy Western home. Rupert waved her to a chair. He was completely indifferent to the prettinea that he had commented upon in the cafe of Li Fang, but he had a use for her. She was his means of revenging himself upon Eve. Eve joined them a few minutes later. She was not aware that Rupert had arrived, but as soon as she saw him, she ran towards him gladly, her hands out- stretched. "Rupert!" she cried. "Thank good- ness you have come back!" Rupert looked at her calmly. "Meet Lolah," he said, indicating with a wave of his hand the half-caste girl. Eve ignored her. Her whole attention was upon Rupert himself. " Rupert, I've cleared your name."she went on quickly. " Adrian confessed that he and Gilbert conspired together to ruin you. And I—well, I married Gilbert .so that you could escape." Rupert changed his expression abruptly. From sheer indifference, it became remoreeful. "You mean you sacrificed yourself, for me ?" he said. "I mean just that." Crayle. watching, sprang to his feet in sudden rage. Financially ruined, he could now see himself losing the woman he had in vain striven to win all these years. His hand flashed to his hip-pocket, and he produced an automatic pistol. "The last laugh is mine, Endon," he snarled, and levelled the weapon mur- derouslj'. He never pulled the trigger. With a hoarse shout, he threw up his hands, and even as he crashed backwards his features turned the familiar ashen hue of the Black Death. "Lolah!" cried Rupert hoarsely. "You've killed him!" Lolah's eyes filled with tears. She looked at him wistfully. " If I had let him live, he would "nave killed you." she replied, and her voice sounded infinitely tired. "Now that he is dead, you can be happy." She folded her arms slowly. Suddenly her own face changed colour, and she closed her eyes, swaying from side to side. Rupert sprang forward. It was too late. Her legs crumpled under her, and she collapsMl to the floor, one of her poi.soned darts thrust info her arm. Rupert bowed his head. He looked at Crayle's dead body; then at Eve. who was weeping silently by his side. "Revenge!" he said brokenly. "And at what a price!" (By permission of the W. & F. Film Service, Ltd.. starring Ian Keith and Aileen Pringle.)