The Black Mask — page 73: what you’re looking at

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

one, as though he had had a hand in it, “prowling in the yard.” With his deeply set, dark eyes De Brunner studied Fleming Knibbs. “You were here last night, weren’t you?” he asked. Knibbs refused to answer, though he knew the sick man was not de- ceived. “What do you want?” De Brunner continued. Still Knibbs maintained his silence. “Bring him here.” The command came in a hard, inflexible tone from among the pillows. The lean spokes- man and his companion leaped to obey. They half carried Knibbs to a chair be- side the bed. Fleming found himself looking squarely into De Brunner’s eee “Go,” said the paralytic to the two men lingering in the background. They went. ; Knibbs felt the other’s eyes boring into him, and he glared back defiantly. No words were spoken. It was a bat- tle of minds. seemed to glow like coals and his whole attitude was of striving for domination. It came to Fleming at that dramatic moment, as he fought back, that Bas- tian De Brunner possessed hypnotic power, and a thrill of fear coursed through him. He suppressed it quickly, concentrating every force into his star- ing eyes. He must hold his own. He must not allow himself to fall under the spell. Absolute silence prevailed in the room. Slowly Knibbs became conscious of a numbness in the legs. It grew upon him an inch at a time, crawling like a snake past the knee and upward. He became desperate, frantic. He tried to shout for help, but no sound issued from his lips. He tried to tear himself fr m the chair and dash from the room, The Half-Asleep Girl De Brunner’s pupils - les were immovable, ae fusing to obey the mental impulse. Vaguely Knibbs marveled at this. It always had been his impression that hypnotic control of an unwilling sub- ject was impossible. Obviously De Brunner possessed an extraordinary power. Then a sudden calmness swept over him as he realized that fear would only | undermine his resistance, thus adding to the other’s strength. Though this was his first experience with hypnosis —and he was accordingly handicapped by a natural awe of mysterious, un- known forces—he now coolly rallied all his faculties to defense, and once again clearly met De Brunner’s gaze. And then the door opened and Lola entered bearing a tray. It was this interruption plus Flem- ing’s rally that spelled defeat for the paralytic’s initial stupendous attempt at controlling his captive’s mind. With- out a word he removed his gaze and sank deeper among the pillows. “Send Jim up,” he said in a normal voice. Lola set the tray on a bureau and, going to the door, called softly below. Shortly the tall, thin-lipped fellow sauntered in. “Make this man secure in the next room,” ordered de Brunner. “I want to see him later. Needn’t gag him un- _less he gets noisy.” The chap called Jim yanked Knibbs to his feet; and then they were in a small, bare room furnished only with a cot. Silently Jim pushed his helpless charge on the cot, stretched him out at full length and made him fast to the frame with stout ropes ably knotted. © “Guess that’ll hold you awhile,” he grinned as he departed. V. Kwipes lay there the balance of the ‘morning and far into the afternoon. Occasional footsteps passed the door,