Outside The Law

: The Master Of The World

Such was the letter addressed to the government of the United States.

As to the person who had placed it in the mail-box of the police, no

one had seen him.



The sidewalk in front of our offices had probably not been once

vacant during the entire night. From sunset to sunrise, there had

always been people, busy, anxious, or curious, passing before our

door. It is true, however, that even then, the bearer o
the letter

might easily have slipped by unseen and dropped the letter in the

box. The night had been so dark, you could scarcely see from one side

of the street to the other.



I have said that this letter appeared in facsimile in all the

newspapers to which the government communicated it. Perhaps one would

naturally imagine that the first comment of the public would be,

"This is the work of some practical joker." It was in that way that I

had accepted my letter from the Great Eyrie, five weeks before.



But this was not the general attitude toward the present letter,

neither in Washington, nor in the rest of America. To the few who

would have maintained that the document should not be taken

seriously, an immense majority would have responded. "This letter has

not the style nor the spirit of a jester. Only one man could have

written it; and that is the inventor of this unapproachable machine."



To most people this conclusion seemed indisputable owing to a curious

state of mind easily explainable. For all the strange facts of which

the key had hitherto been lacking, this letter furnished an

explanation. The theory now almost universally accepted was as

follows. The inventor had hidden himself for a time, only in order to

reappear more startlingly in some new light. Instead of having

perished in an accident, he had concealed himself in some retreat

where the police were unable to discover him. Then to assert

positively his attitude toward all governments he had written this

letter. But instead of dropping it in the post in any one locality,

which might have resulted in its being traced to him, he had come to

Washington and deposited it himself in the very spot suggested by the

government's official notice, the bureau of police.



Well! If this remarkable personage had reckoned that this new proof

of his existence would make some noise in two worlds, he certainly

figured rightly. That day, the millions of good folk who read and

re-read their daily paper could to employ a well-known phrase,

scarcely believe their eyes.



As for myself, I studied carefully every phrase of the defiant

document. The hand-writing was black and heavy. An expert at

chirography would doubtless have distinguished in the lines traces of

a violent temperament, of a character stern and unsocial. Suddenly, a

cry escaped me a cry that fortunately my housekeeper did not hear.

Why had I not noticed sooner the resemblance of the handwriting to

that of the letter I had received from Morganton?



Moreover, a yet more significant coincidence, the initials with which

my letter had been signed, did they not stand for the words "Master

of the World?"



And whence came the second letter? "On Board the 'Terror.'" Doubtless

this name was that of the triple machine commanded by the mysterious

captain. The initials in my letter were his own signature; and it was

he who had threatened me, if I dared to renew my attempt on the Great

Eyrie.



I rose and took from my desk the letter of June thirteenth. I

compared it with the facsimile in the newspapers. There was no doubt

about it. They were both in the same peculiar hand-writing.



My mind worked eagerly. I sought to trace the probable deductions

from this striking fact, known only to myself. The man who had

threatened me was the commander of this "Terror" -- startling name,

only too well justified! I asked myself if our search could not now

be prosecuted under less vague conditions. Could we not now start our

men upon a trail which would lead definitely to success? In short,

what relation existed between the "Terror" and the Great Eyrie? What

connection was there between the phenomena of the Blueridge

Mountains, arid the no less phenomenal performances of the fantastic

machine?



I knew what my first step should be; and with the letter in my

pocket, I hastened to police headquarters. Inquiring if Mr. Ward was

within and receiving an affirmative reply, I hastened toward his

door, and rapped upon it with unusual and perhaps unnecessary vigor.

Upon his call to enter, I stepped eagerly into the room.



The chief had spread before him the letter published in the papers,

not a facsimile, but the original itself which had been deposited in

the letter-box of the department.



"You come as if you had important news, Strock?"



"Judge for yourself, Mr. Ward;" and I drew from my pocket the letter

with the initials.



Mr. Ward took it, glanced at its face, and asked, "What is this?"



"A letter signed only with initials, as you can see."



"And where was it posted?"



"In Morganton, in North Carolina."



"When did you receive it?"



"A month ago, the thirteenth of June."



"What did you think of it then?"



"That it had been written as a joke."



"And now Strock?"



"I think, what you will think, Mr. Ward, after you have studied it."



My chief turned to the letter again and read it carefully. "It is

signed with three initials," said he.



"Yes, Mr. Ward, and those initials belong to the words, 'Master of

the World,' in this facsimile."



"Of which this is the original," responded Mr. Ward, taking it up.



"It is quite evident," I urged, "that the two letters are by the same

hand."



"It seems so."



"You see what threats are made against me, to protect the Great

Eyrie."



"Yes, the threat of death! But Strock, you have had this letter for a

month. Why have you not shown it to me before?"



"Because I attached no importance to it. Today, after the letter from

the 'Terror,' it must be taken seriously."



"I agree with you. It appears to me most important. I even hope it

may prove the means of tracking this strange personage."



"That is what I also hope, Mr. Ward."



"Only what connection can possibly exist between the 'Terror' and the

Great Eyrie?"



"That I do not know. I cannot even imagine."



"There can be but one explanation," continued Mr. Ward, "though it is

almost inadmissible, even impossible."



"And that is?"



"That the Great Eyrie was the spot selected by the inventor, where he

gathered his material."



"That is impossible!" cried I. "In what way would he get his material

in there? And how get his machine out? After what I have seen, Mr.

Ward, your suggestion is impossible."



"Unless, Strock--"



"Unless what?" I demanded.



"Unless the machine of this Master of the World has also wings, which

permit it to take refuge in the Great Eyrie."



At the suggestion that the "Terror," which had searched the deeps of

the sea, might be capable also of rivaling the vultures and the

eagles, I could not restrain an expressive shrug of incredulity.

Neither did Mr. Ward himself dwell upon the extravagant hypothesis.



He took the two letters and compared them afresh. He examined them

under a microscope, especially the signatures, and established their

perfect identity. Not only the same hand, but the same pen had

written them.



After some moments of further reflection, Mr. Ward said, "I will keep

your letter, Strock. Decidedly, I think, that you are fated to play

an important part in this strange affair or rather in these two

affairs. What thread attaches them, I cannot yet see; but I am sure

the thread exists. You have been connected with the first, and it

will not be surprising if you have a large part in the second."



"I hope so, Mr. Ward. You know how inquisitive I am."



"I do, Strock. That is understood. Now, I can only repeat my former

order; hold yourself in readiness to leave Washington at a moment's

warning."



All that day, the public excitement caused by the defiant letter

mounted steadily higher. It was felt both at the White House and at

the Capitol that public opinion absolutely demanded some action. Of

course, it was difficult to do anything. Where could one find this

Master of the World? And even if he were discovered, how could he be

captured? He had at his disposal not only the powers he had

displayed, but apparently still greater resources as yet unknown. How

had he been able to reach Lake Kirdall over the rocks; and how had he

escaped from it? Then, if he had indeed appeared on Lake Superior,

how had he covered all the intervening territory unseen?



What a bewildering affair it was altogether! This, of course, made it

all the more important to get to the bottom of it. Since the millions

of dollars had been refused, force must be employed. The inventor and

his invention were not to be bought. And in what haughty and menacing

terms he had couched his refusal! So be it! He must be treated as an

enemy of society, against whom all means became justified, that he

might be deprived of his power to injure others. The idea that he had

perished was now entirely discarded. He was alive, very much alive;

and his existence constituted a perpetual public danger!



Influenced by these ideas, the government issued the following

proclamation:



"Since the commander of the 'Terror' has refused to make public his

invention, at any price whatever, since the use which he makes of his

machine constitutes a public menace, against which it is impossible

to guard, the said commander of the 'Terror' is hereby placed beyond

the protection of the law. Any measures taken in the effort to

capture or destroy either him or his machine will be approved and

rewarded."



It was a declaration of war, war to the death against this "Master of

the World" who thought to threaten and defy an entire nation, the

American nation!



Before the day was over, various rewards of large amounts were

promised to anyone who revealed the hiding place of this dangerous

inventor, to anyone who could identify him, and to anyone who should

rid the country of him.



Such was the situation during the last fortnight of July. All was

left to the hazard of fortune. The moment the outlaw re-appeared he

would be seen and signaled, and when the chance came he would be

arrested. This could not be accomplished when he was in his

automobile on land or in his boat on the water. No; he must be seized

suddenly, before he had any opportunity to escape by means of that

speed which no other machine could equal.



I was therefore all alert, awaiting an order from Mr. Ward to start

out with my men. But the order did not arrive for the very good

reason that the man whom it concerned remained undiscovered. The end

of July approached. The newspapers continued the excitement. They

published repeated rumors. New clues were constantly being announced.

But all this was mere idle talk. Telegrams reached the police bureau

from every part of America, each contradicting and nullifying the

others. The enormous rewards offered could not help but lead to

accusations, errors, and blunders, made, many of them, in good faith.

One time it would be a cloud of dust, which must have contained the

automobile. At another time, almost any wave on any of America's

thousand lakes represented the submarine. In truth, in the excited

state of the public imagination, apparitions assailed us from every

side.



At last, on the twenty-ninth of July, I received a telephone message

to come to Mr. Ward on the instant. Twenty minutes later I was in his

cabinet.



"You leave in an hour, Strock," said he.



"Where for?"



"For Toledo."



"It has been seen?"



"Yes. At Toledo you will get your final orders."



"In an hour, my men and I will be on the way."



"Good! And, Strock, I now give you a formal order."



"What is it, Mr. Ward?"



"To succeed! This time to succeed!"



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