Quest of the Golden Ape by Garrett and Marlowe

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[Illustration: They were bent upon rapine and slaughter--and what greater prize than the Queen herself?]

QUEST OF THE GOLDEN APE

By IVAR JORGENSEN and ADAM CHASE

_How could this man awaken with no past--no childhood--no recollection except of a vague world of terror from which his mother cried out for vengeance and the slaughter of his own people stood as a monument of infamy?_

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER I Mansion of Mystery II The Great Clock of Tarth III The Man in the Cavern IV John Pride's Story V Question Upon Question VI On the Plains of Ofrid VII The White God VIII The Brown Virgin IX In Custody X The Road to Nadia XI On the Ice Fields of Nadia XII Volna the Beautiful XIII The Journey of No Return XIV Land Beyond the Stars XV The Golden Ape XVI The Raging Beast XVII The Prison Without Bars

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CHAPTER I

_Mansion of Mystery_

In a secluded section of a certain eastern state which must remain nameless, one may leave the main highway and travel up a winding road around tortuous bends and under huge scowling trees, into wooded country.

Upon a certain night--the date of which must remain vague--there came a man who faced and was not turned back by a series of psychological barriers along this road which made it more impregnable than a steel wall. These barriers, which had kept out a hundred years of curiosity-seekers until that certain night, were forged by the scientific magic of a genius on a planet far beyond the sun....

The man who boldly followed his headlights up the road was of middle age with calm, honest eyes and a firm mouth indicating bargains made in his name would be kept. He pushed on, feeling the subtle force of the psychological powers against him but resisting because he vaguely understood them.

He left his car presently and raised his hand to touch the hard outline of a small book he carried in his breast pocket and with the gesture his determination hardened. He set his jaw firmly, snapped on the flashlight he had taken from the dash of his convertible and moved on up the road.

His firm, brisk steps soon brought him to its end, a great iron gate, its lock and hinges rusted tight under the patient hand of Time. It was high and spiked and too dangerous for climbing. But someone had smashed the lock with a heavy instrument and had applied force until the rusted hinges gave and the gate stood partially open. From the look of the metal, this could have been done recently--even in the past few minutes.

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The man entered and found a flagstone pathway. He followed this for a time with the aid of his flashlight. Then he stopped and raised the beam.

It revealed the outline of a great stone mansion, its myriad windows like black, sightless eyes, its silent bulk telling of long solitude, its tongueless voice whispering: _Go away, stranger. Only peril and misfortune await you here._

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