The Valor of the South

From out of the gloom came a fiendish laugh. Instantly, the dark figure
of a man appeared, his face completely hidden by a broad slouch hat and
the long cloak which enveloped him. A sardonic voice hissed, "Trapped at
last! My lady and her lover thought to escape, did they!" The voice was
unfamiliar, but the atmosphere seemed charged with Marlanx. "Kill him,
Zem!" he shouted. "Don't let him escape you! I will take care of the
little witch, never fear!" He clutched at the girl and tried to draw her
to him.

"Marlanx! By all the gods!" cried Baldos in despair. He had wounded his
man several times, though not seriously. He dared not turn to Beverly's
aid.

The scene was thrilling, grewsome. Within this narrow, dimly-lighted
underground passage, with its musty walls sweating with dampness and
thick with the tangled meshes of the spider's web, a brave girt and her
lover struggled and fought back to back.

To her dismay, Beverly saw the point of a sword at her throat.

"Out of the way, girl," the man in the cloak snarled, furious at her
resistance. "You die as well as your lover unless you surrender. He
cannot escape me."

"And if I refuse," cried the girl, trying desperately to gain time.

"I will drive my blade through your heart and tell the world it was the
deed of your lover."

Baldos groaned. His adversary, encouraged by the change in the
situation, pressed him sorely.

"Don't you dare to touch me, Count Marlanx. I know you!" she hissed." I
know what you would do with me. It is not for Graustark that you seek
his life."