Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Monster Men Edgar Rice Burroughs

As he dropped the last grisly fragment of the dismembered and mutilated body into the smallvat of nitric acid that was to devour every trace of the horrid evidence which might easily send himto the gallows, the man sank weakly into a chair and throwing his body forward upon his great, teakdesk buried his face in his arms, breaking into dry, moaning sobs. Beads of perspiration followed the seams of his high, wrinkled forehead, replacing the tearswhich might have lessened the pressure upon his overwrought nerves. His slender frame shook, aswith ague, and at times was racked by a convulsive shudder. A sudden step upon the stairway leadingto his workshop brought him trembling and wide eyed to his feet, staring fearfully at the locked andbolted door. Although he knew perfectly well whose the advancing footfalls were, he was all but overcome bythe madness of apprehension as they came softly nearer and nearer to the barred door. At last theyhalted before it, to be followed by a gentle knock."Daddy!" came the sweet tones of a girl's voice. The man made an effort to take a firm grasp upon himself that no tell-tale evidence of hisemotion might be betrayed in his speech."Daddy!" called the girl again, a trace of anxiety in her voice this time. "What IS the matter withyou, and what ARE you doing? You've been shut up in that hateful old room for three days nowwithout a morsel to eat, and in all likelihood without a wink of sleep. You'll kill yourself with yourstuffy old experiments."The man's face softened."Don't worry about me, sweetheart," he replied in a well controlled voice. "I'll soon be throughnow-soon be through-and then we'll go away for a long vacation-for a long vacation.""I'll give you until noon, Daddy," said the girl in a voice which carried a more strongly definedtone of authority than her father's soft drawl, "and then I shall come into that room, if I have to usean axe, and bring you out-do you understand?"Professor Maxon smiled wanly. He knew that his daughter was equal to her threat."All right, sweetheart, I'll be through by noon for sure-by noon for sure. Run along and playnow, like a good little girl."Virginia Maxon shrugged her shapely shoulders and shook her head hopelessly at the forbiddingpanels of the door.