The Black Star Author:Johnston McCulley Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III INTO THE PIT INSTINCT and experience told Verbeck that this sight might prove too much for Muggs and he gripped the smaller man by the arm to ... more »indicate that he was to maintain quiet. It was well he did so, for subsequent proceedings were highly unusual and mysterious. The Black Star nodded to the other man and stepped across the room, where there was another small blackboard attached to the wall. When he stood before it he nodded again, and the other picked up the chalk and started to write, and thus they conversed, each writing on his blackboard and erasing after the other had read. "Number Six," the man wrote. "Countersign?" "Florida." "Report," wrote the Black Star. "Carried out your instructions, but was caught by Verbeck and his valet. Escaped when they went to call police." It seemed that the Black Star grew taller and straighter as he looked at the other man, and Verbeck and Muggs could see his eyes glittering through theblack mask. They expected him to roar a rebuke, a denunciation, but he did not. He faced the blackboard again and wrote rapidly: "You are a blunderer. We have no use for the man who fails." "I did not fail," the other wrote on the board quickly. "I put a black star on his bed and scattered others in library. I was putting letter on desk when they caught me." "Did you come straight here?" "No. I shook them off first. I got away before they raised an uproar. Came on owl car, got off several blocks back, and cut down the hill." The Black Star motioned for him to erase this last, and then walked slowly to the table. There was a pile of letters on one end of it, and the Black Star picked up one and read it, shook his head, and put the letter in the pocket of his robe. He pressed against the end of the table, ...« less