Part 9 (2/2)

'That's Arideus,' grunted Tarascus 'Let hi with suppressed excitement

'How, Arideus?' exclaimed Tarascus 'Have you found the man who attacked me?'

'You did not see him, my lord?' asked Arideus, as one ould assure hinize him?'

'No It happened so quick, and the candle was out--all I could think of was that it was soic----'

'The Pythonian sleeps in his barred and bolted room But I have been in the pits' Arideus twitched his lean shoulders excitedly

'Well, speak, man!' exclaimed Tarascus ieon,' whispered the squire 'The corpse of the great ape!'

'_What?_' Tarascus started upright, and blood gushed from his opened wound

'Aye! The one!'

Tarascus was gray of face as he ain and the priest reneork upon his led flesh

'Conan!' he repeated 'Not a crushed corpse--escaped! Mitra! He is no ht Xaltotun was behind this wound I see now Gods and devils! It was Conan who stabbed me! Arideus!'

'Aye, your Majesty!'

'Search every nook in the palace He ry tiger Let no niche escape your scrutiny, and beware It is not a civilized th and ferocity are those of a wild beast Scour the palace-grounds and the city Throw a cordon about the walls If you find he has escaped from the city, as he may well do, take a troop of horsemen and follow hih the hills But haste, and you may yet catch him'

'This is a matter which requires more than ordinary human wits,' said Orastes 'Perhaps we should seek Xaltotun's advice'

'No!' exclaimed Tarascus violently 'Let the troopers pursue Conan and slay hiainst us if we kill a prisoner to prevent his escape'

'Well,' said Orastes, 'I am no Acheronian, but I am versed in some of the arts, and the control of certain spirits which have cloaked themselves in material substance Perhaps I can aid you in this matter'

The fountain of Thrallos stood in a clustered ring of oaks beside the road a mile from the walls of the city Its h the silence of the starlight He drank deep of its icy stream, and then hurried southward toward a sreat white horse tied ah he reached it with one stride--a linting, ht This was no pluuardsray chain-mail--one of the Adventurers, a class of warriors peculiar to Nemedia; hthood, or had fallen fro their lives to war and adventure They constituted a class of their own, so troops, but the Conan knew that he could have been discovered by nothe shadows convinced hihtly, digging his toes into the turf, as his thews coiled tensely

'I was riding for Belverus on A warily The starlight was a long sheen on the great two-handed sword he bore naked in his hand 'A horse whinnied to e a steed should be tethered here I waited--and lo, I have caught a rare prize!'

The Adventurers lived by their swords

'I know you,'of Aquilonia

I thought I saw you die in the valley of the Valkia, but----'