WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:04.639 Chapter one of The Devil in Ron. This is a 2 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:09.279 LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. 3 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:13.960 For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. 4 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:21.160 Recording by Phil Shinever. The Devil in Ron by Robert E. 5 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:27.879 Howard was first published in Weird Tales August nineteen thirty four. 6 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:35.240 Chapter one. The fisherman loosened his knife in its scabbard. 7 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:39.520 The gesture was instinctive, for what he feared was nothing 8 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:42.960 a knife could slay, not even the saw edged crescent 9 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:46.240 blade of the Uechi that could disembowel a man with 10 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:50.560 an upward stroke. Neither man nor beast threatened him in 11 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:55.119 the solitude which brooded over the castellated Isle of Zoppor. 12 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:00.240 He had climbed the cliffs, passed through the jungle that 13 00:01:00.359 --> 00:01:04.840 bordered them, and now stood surrounded by evidences of a 14 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:10.719 vanished state. Broken columns glimmered among the trees, The staggering 15 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:15.680 lines of crumbling walls meandered off into the shadows, and 16 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:20.719 under his feet were broad paves, cracked and bowed by 17 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:25.599 roots growing beneath The fisherman was typical of his race. 18 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:30.079 That strange people whose origin is lost in the gray 19 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:33.280 dawn of the past, and who have dwelt in their 20 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:36.519 rude fishing huts along the southern shore of the Sea 21 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:42.040 of Voliat since time immemorial. He was broadly built, with 22 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:46.840 long apish arms and a mighty chest, but with lean 23 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:51.239 loins and thin bandy legs. His face was broad, his 24 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:56.480 forehead low and retreating, his hair thick and tangled. A 25 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:59.359 belt for a knife and a rag for a loincloth 26 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:03.480 were all he wore in the way of clothing. That 27 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:07.040 he was where he was proved that he was less 28 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:11.560 dully and curious than most of his people. Men seldom 29 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:17.360 visited Zapor. It was uninhabited, all but forgotten, merely one 30 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:20.840 among the myriad isles which dotted the great Inland Sea. 31 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:26.319 Men called it Zapor the Fortified because of its ruins 32 00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:31.719 remnants of some prehistoric kingdom, lost and forgotten before the 33 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:36.879 conquering Hiberians had ridden southward. No one knew who reared 34 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:41.759 these stones, though dim legends lingered among the Uechi, which 35 00:02:41.879 --> 00:02:47.560 half intelligibly suggested a connection of immeasurable antiquity between the 36 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:52.800 fissures and the unknown island kingdom. But it had been 37 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:57.319 a thousand years since any Uechi had understood the import 38 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:02.159 of these tales. They repeated them now as a meaningless formula, 39 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:07.199 a gibberish framed by their lips by custom. No yuet 40 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:11.159 she had come to Zappor for a century. The adjacent 41 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:15.680 coast to the main land was uninhabited, a reedy marsh 42 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:19.039 given over to the grim beasts that haunted it. The 43 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:22.800 fisher's village lay some distance to the south on the mainland. 44 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:27.360 A storm had blown his frail fishing craft far from 45 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:31.400 his accustomed haunts, and erected in a night of flaring 46 00:03:31.479 --> 00:03:35.800 lightning and roaring waters on the towering cliffs of the Isle. 47 00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:40.639 Now in the dawn the sky shone blue and clear. 48 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:45.680 The rising sun made jewels of the dripping leaves. He 49 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:48.639 had climbed the cliffs to which he had clung through 50 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:51.800 the night, because in the midst of the storm he 51 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:55.800 had seen an appalling lance of lightning fork out of 52 00:03:55.879 --> 00:04:00.360 the black heavens, and the concussion of its stroke, which 53 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:04.159 had shaken the whole island, had been accompanied by a 54 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:08.280 cataclysmic crash that he doubted could have resulted from a 55 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:13.400 riven tree. A dull curiosity had caused him to investigate, 56 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:18.120 and now he had found what he sought, and an 57 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:23.519 animal like uneasiness possessed him a sense of lurking peril. 58 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:29.120 Among the trees reared a broken dome like structure, built 59 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:33.399 of gigantic blocks of the peculiar iron like green stone 60 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:38.480 found only on the islands of Vilayette. It seemed incredible 61 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:42.360 that human hands could have shaped and placed them, and 62 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:46.279 certainly it was beyond human power to have overthrown the 63 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:50.839 structure they formed. But the thunderbolt had splintered the ton 64 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:55.199 heavy blocks, like so much glass, reduced others to green dust, 65 00:04:55.720 --> 00:05:00.040 and ripped away the whole arch of the dome. The 66 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:03.959 fisherman climbed over the debris and peered in, and what 67 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:09.399 he saw brought a grunt from him. Within the ruined dome, 68 00:05:09.879 --> 00:05:14.720 surrounded by stone, dust and bits of broken masonry, lay 69 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:18.879 a man on the golden block. He was clad in 70 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:23.240 a sort of skirt and a chagreen girdle. His black hair, 71 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:27.199 which fell in a square mane to his massive shoulders, 72 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:32.000 was confined about his temples by a narrow gold band. 73 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:37.319 On his bare muscular breast lay a curious dagger with 74 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:43.399 a jeweled pommel, chagreen bound hilt, and a broad crescent blade. 75 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:46.680 It was much like the knife the fisherman wore at 76 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:50.439 his hip, but it lacked the serrated edge and was 77 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:56.959 made with infinitely greater skill. The fisherman lusted for the weapon. 78 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.759 The man, of course, was dead, had been dead for 79 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:06.439 many centuries. This dome was his tomb. The fisherman did 80 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:09.319 not wonder by what art the ancients had preserved the 81 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:13.600 body in such a vivid likeness of life, which kept 82 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:18.480 the muscular limbs full and unshrunken, the dark flesh vital. 83 00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:22.480 The dull brain of the Uechi had room only for 84 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:26.920 his desire for the knife, with its delicate waving lines 85 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:31.600 along the dully gleaming blade. Scrambling down into the dome, 86 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:36.240 he lifted the weapon from the man's breast, and as 87 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:39.879 he did so, a strange and terrible thing came to pass. 88 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:46.160 The muscular, dark hands nodded convulsively. The lids flared open, 89 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:52.079 revealing great, dark magnetic eyes whose stare struck the startled 90 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:57.800 fisherman like a physical blow. He recoiled, dropping the jeweled dagger. 91 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:02.600 In his perturbation. On the dais, heaved up to a 92 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:07.000 sitting position, and the fisherman gaped at the full extent 93 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:12.560 of his size. Thus revealed, his narrowed eyes held the Yuetchi, 94 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:18.800 and in those slited orbs he read neither friendliness nor gratitude. 95 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:23.480 He saw only a fire as alien and hostile as 96 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:27.959 that which burns in the eyes of a tiger. Suddenly 97 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:32.639 the man rose and towered above him menace in every aspect. 98 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:36.120 There was no room in the fisherman's dull brain for fear, 99 00:07:36.759 --> 00:07:39.519 at least for such fear as might grip a man 100 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:43.680 who has just seen the fundamental laws of nature defied. 101 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:48.360 As the great hands fell to his shoulders, he drew 102 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:52.720 his saw edged knife and struck upward. With the same motion. 103 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:58.399 The blade splintered against the stranger's corded belly as against 104 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:03.680 a steel column, and then the fisherman's thick neck broke 105 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:08.920 like a rotten twig in the giant hands. End of 106 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:18.319 chapter one, Chapter two of The Devil in Iron by 107 00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:22.759 Robert E. Howard. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. 108 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:30.920 Chapter two jehungir Aga, lord of Cahawarzum and keeper of 109 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:35.399 the coastal border, scanned once more the ornate parchment scroll 110 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:41.879 with its peacock seal, and laughed shortly and sardonically well 111 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:48.440 bluntly demanded his counselor goznaby Jehungir shrugged his shoulders. He 112 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:51.559 was a handsome man with the merciless pride of birth 113 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:56.759 and accomplishment. The king grows short of patience, said he 114 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:00.960 in his own hand. He complains bitterly of what he 115 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:05.679 calls my failure to guard the frontier. By tarim if 116 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:08.440 I cannot deal a blow to these robbers of the steps, 117 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:13.679 Khawarzum may own a new lord. Kasnavi tugged his gray 118 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:19.519 shot beard in meditation. Yest Gerd, King of Turan, was 119 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:23.960 the mightiest monarch in the world. In his palace in 120 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:28.039 the great port city of Agrappour, was heaped the plunder 121 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:33.240 of empires. His fleets of purple sailed war galleys had 122 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:38.279 made Vilayet and Hyrcanian Lake. The dark skinned people of 123 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:43.159 Zamora paid him tribute, as did the eastern province of Koth. 124 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:47.480 The Schemites bowed to his rule as far west as Sushan. 125 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:51.679 His armies ravaged the borders of Stygia in the south 126 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:54.919 and the snowy lands of the Hyperboreans in the north. 127 00:09:55.879 --> 00:10:00.559 His riders bore torch and sword westward into Brythumi and 128 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:05.759 Ophir and Corinthia, even to the borders of Namidia. His 129 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:10.320 gilt helmeted swordmen had trampled hosts under their horses. Hoofs 130 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:13.879 and walled cities went up in flames at his command. 131 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:20.759 In the glutted slave markets of Agrapur, Sultanipur, Khawar, zim Chapur, 132 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:25.960 and Khorusen women were sold for three small silver coins. 133 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:34.559 Blonde Baruthians, tawny Stygians, dark haired Samorians, ebund Kushites, olive 134 00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:40.559 skinned Chemites. Yet, while his swift horsemen overthrew armies far 135 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:45.799 from his frontiers, at his very borders, and audacious foe 136 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:50.840 plucked his beard with a red, dripping and smoke stained hand. 137 00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:55.879 On the broad steps between the Sea of Vilayet and 138 00:10:55.960 --> 00:11:00.559 the borders of the easternmost Hiberian kingdoms, a new race 139 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:04.639 has sprung up in the past half century, formed originally 140 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:10.480 of fleeing criminals, broken men, escaped slaves, and deserting soldiers. 141 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:14.799 They were men of many crimes in countries, some born 142 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:18.240 on the steps, some fleeing from the kingdoms in the west. 143 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:23.840 They were called Kosakh, which means wastrel, dwelling on the 144 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:28.720 wilde open steps. Owning no law but their own peculiar code, 145 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:35.360 they had become a people capable of defying the Grand monarch. Seaselessly. 146 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:40.159 They raided the Turanian frontier, retiring in the steps when 147 00:11:40.200 --> 00:11:43.879 defeated with the pirates of Villayette, men of much the 148 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:48.279 same breed, they harried the coast, preying off the merchant 149 00:11:48.279 --> 00:11:52.879 ships which plied between the Hyrcanian ports. How am I 150 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:57.559 to crush these wolves, demanded Jehungir. If I follow them 151 00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:00.679 into the steps, I run the risky either of being 152 00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:05.000 cut off and destroyed, or having them elude me entirely 153 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:08.600 and burn the city in my absence. Of late, they 154 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:12.080 have been more daring than ever. That is because of 155 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:15.600 the new chief who has risen among them, answered Gosnavi. 156 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:22.840 You know whom I mean, I replied Jehungir feelingly. It 157 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:27.879 is that devil Knan. He is even wilder than the Kozaks. 158 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:31.480 Yet he is crafty as a mountain lion. It is 159 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:36.799 more through wild animal instinct than through intelligence, answered Gosnavi. 160 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:41.440 The other Kozakhs are at least descendants of civilized men. 161 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:46.799 He is a barbarian. But to dispose of him would 162 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:52.480 be to deal them a crippling blow. But how demanded Jehungir, 163 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:56.559 He has repeatedly cut his way out of spots that 164 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:01.720 seemed certain death for him, And by instinct or cunning, 165 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:06.399 he has avoided or escaped every trap set for him. 166 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:10.000 For every beast stand for every man, there is a 167 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:14.519 trap he will not escape, quoth Gosnabi. When we have 168 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:18.279 parleyed with the Kozakhs for the ransom of captives, I 169 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:23.039 have observed this man Conan. He has a keen relish 170 00:13:23.080 --> 00:13:27.919 for women and strong drink. Have your captive Octavia fetched here? 171 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:34.320 Jehungir clapped his hands, and an impassive crushite eunuch an 172 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:39.399 image of shining ebony and silken pantaloons bowed before him 173 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:43.720 and went to do his bidding. Presently he returned, leading 174 00:13:43.879 --> 00:13:48.320 by the wrist a tall, handsome girl whose yellow hair, 175 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:53.879 clear eyes, and fair skin identified her as a pure 176 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:59.519 blooded member of her race. Her scanty silk tunic girded 177 00:13:59.559 --> 00:14:04.960 at the way, displayed the marvelous contours of her magnificent figure, 178 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:10.360 Her fine eyes flashed with resentment, and her red lips 179 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:14.799 were sulky. But submission had been taught her during her captivity. 180 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:19.679 She stood with hanging head before her master until he 181 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:22.960 motioned her to a seat on the divan beside him. 182 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:29.240 Then he looked inquiringly at Kozhnavi. We must lure Conan 183 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:33.960 away from the Coszakhs, said the councilor abruptly. There. War 184 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:38.120 camp is at present pitched somewhere on the lower reaches 185 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:42.320 of the Saporoska River, which, as you well know, is 186 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:46.759 a wilderness of reeds, a swampy jungle in which our 187 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:52.039 last expedition was cut to pieces by those masterless devils. 188 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:57.720 I am not likely to forget that, said chehungir Riley. 189 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:05.399 There is uninhabited island near the mainland, said Gosnabi, known 190 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:10.120 as zappor the Fortified, because of some ancient ruins upon it. 191 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:14.679 There is a peculiarity about it which makes it perfect 192 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:19.399 for our purpose. It has no shore line, but rises 193 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:22.000 sheer out of the sea and cliffs one hundred and 194 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:27.000 fifty feet tall. Not even an ape could negotiate them. 195 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:30.320 The only place where a man can go up or 196 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:34.399 down is a narrow path on the western side that 197 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:38.240 has the appearance of a worn stair carved into the 198 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:42.279 solid rock of the cliffs. If we could trap Konan 199 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:46.279 on that island alone, we could hunt him down at 200 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:51.039 our leisure with bows, as men hunt a lion as well. 201 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:55.240 Wish for the moon, said Jehungir impatiently. Shall we send 202 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:57.919 him a messenger bidding him climb the cliffs and await 203 00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:02.919 our coming In effect, yes, seeing Jahangir's look of amazement, 204 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:06.799 cost not be continued, we will ask for a parley 205 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:10.159 with the Kozakhs in regard to prisoners at the edge 206 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:14.360 of the steps by Fort Gory. As usual, we will 207 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:17.360 go with a force, and in camp outside the castle, 208 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:21.440 they will come with an equal force, and the party 209 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:25.799 will go forward with the usual distrust and suspicion. But 210 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:29.440 this time we will take with us, as if by 211 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:36.200 casual chance, your beautiful captive Octavia changed color and listened 212 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:41.159 with intensified interest as the counselor nodded toward her. She 213 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:46.200 will use all her whiles to attract Knan's attention. That 214 00:16:46.279 --> 00:16:50.120 should not be difficult to that wild reaver. She should 215 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:55.440 appear a dazzling vision of loveliness. Her vitality and substantial 216 00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:58.919 figure should appeal to him more vividly than would one 217 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:04.079 of the doll like beauty of your seraglio. Octavia sprang up, 218 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:09.480 her white fists clenched, her eyes blazing, and her figure 219 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:15.319 quivering with outraged anger. You would force me to play 220 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:20.400 the trollop with this barbarian, she exclaimed, I will not. 221 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:25.799 I am no market block slut to smirk an ogul 222 00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:29.079 at a steps robber. I am the daughter of a 223 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:35.519 Namidian lord. You were of the Namdian nobility before my 224 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:42.039 riders carried you off, returned Jehungir cynically. Now you I'm 225 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:46.920 merely a slave who will do as she is bid. 226 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:53.559 I will not. She raged, on the contrary, rejoined Jehungar 227 00:17:53.799 --> 00:18:00.359 with studied cruelty. You will, I like Gaznavii's plan, You 228 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:05.640 Prince among counselors. Knan will probably wish to buy her. 229 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:09.720 You will refuse to sell her, of course, or to 230 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:14.480 exchange her for her Cannyan prisoners. He may then try 231 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:17.839 to steal her or take her by force, though I 232 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:22.079 do not think even he would break the parly truce anyway. 233 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:26.240 We must be prepared for whatever he might attempt then 234 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:30.240 shortly after the parley, before he has time to forget 235 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:33.799 all about her, we will send a messenger to him 236 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:38.480 under a flag of truce, accusing him of stealing the 237 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:43.160 girl and demanding her return. He may kill the messenger, 238 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:47.160 but at least he will think that she has escaped. 239 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:51.759 Then we will send a spy. A you what chief 240 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:55.759 fisherman will do to the Kosak camp? Who will tell 241 00:18:55.880 --> 00:19:00.920 Knan that Octavia is hiding on Zappor? If I know 242 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:06.400 my man, he will go straight to that place. But 243 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:10.440 we do not know that he will go alone. Jehangir argued, 244 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:14.000 does a man take a band of warriors with him 245 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:17.839 when going to a rendezvous with a woman he desires? 246 00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:23.480 Retorted Gaznavi, the chances are that he will go alone, 247 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:27.400 but we will need to take care of the other alternative. 248 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:30.880 We will not await him on the island, where we 249 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:34.400 might be trapped ourselves, but among the reeds of a 250 00:19:34.440 --> 00:19:37.960 marshy point which juts out to within a thousand yards 251 00:19:38.119 --> 00:19:41.799 of Zappor. If he brings a large force, we'll beat 252 00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:45.200 a retreat and think up another plot. If he comes 253 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:49.319 alone or with a small party, we will have him. 254 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:55.000 Depend upon it he will come remembering your charming slaves, 255 00:19:55.079 --> 00:20:00.920 smiles and meaning glances. I will never descend to such shame. 256 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:07.359 Octavia was wild with fury and humiliation. I will die first. 257 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:13.039 You will not die, my rebellious beauty, said Jehungir, but 258 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:18.559 you will be subjected to a very painful and humiliating experience. 259 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:23.279 He clapped his hands and Octavia paled. This time, it 260 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:27.839 was not the Kushite who entered, but a Shemite, a 261 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:32.240 heavily muscled man of medium height with a short, curled 262 00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:38.039 blue black beard. Here is work for you, gilson, said Jehungir. 263 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:43.279 Take this fool and play with her awhile, yet be 264 00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:47.839 careful not to spoil her beauty. With an inarticulate grunt, 265 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:52.519 the Shemite seized Octavia's wrist, and at the grasp of 266 00:20:52.599 --> 00:20:56.319 his iron fingers, all the defiance went out of her. 267 00:20:56.839 --> 00:21:00.200 With a piteous cry. She tore away and threw herself 268 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:06.799 on her knees before her implacable master, sobbing incoherently from mercy. 269 00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:12.200 Jahangir dismissed the disappointed torturer with a gesture and said 270 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:17.079 to Kaznavi, if your plan succeeds, I will fill your 271 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:29.839 lap with gold. End of chapter two Chapter three of 272 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:34.559 The Devil in Iron by Robert E. Howard. The Sleebrivox 273 00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:40.759 recording is in the public domain. Chapter three. In the 274 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:46.119 darkness before dawn, an unaccustomed sound disturbed the solitude that 275 00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:49.839 slumbered over the reedy marshes and the misty waters of 276 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:54.920 the coast. It was not a drowsy waterfowl, nor a 277 00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:59.440 waking beast. It was a human who struggled through the 278 00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:03.599 thick reeds, which were taller than a man's head. It 279 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:08.000 was a woman. Had there been anyone to see, tall 280 00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:13.480 and yellow haired, her splendid limbs molded by her bedraggled tunic, 281 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:19.720 Octavia had escaped in good earnest, every outraged fiber of 282 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:23.960 her still tingling from her experience in a captivity that 283 00:22:24.039 --> 00:22:30.519 had become unendurable. Jehungir's mastery of her had been bad enough, 284 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:35.799 but with deliberate fiendishness, Jehungir had given her to a 285 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:41.759 nobleman whose name was a byword for degeneracy. Even in Koharazim, 286 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:48.799 Octavia's resilient flesh crawled and quivered at her memories. Desperation 287 00:22:49.079 --> 00:22:52.799 had nerved her climb from jalal Kan's castle on a 288 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:57.440 rope made of strips from torn tapestries, and chance had 289 00:22:57.519 --> 00:23:00.920 led her to a picketed horse. She had ridden all night, 290 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:04.559 and dawn found her with a foundered steed on the 291 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:09.160 swampy shores of the sea. Quivering with the abhorrence of 292 00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:13.279 being dragged back to the revolting destiny planned for her 293 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:18.319 by jalal Khan, she plunged into the morass, seeking a 294 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:22.440 hiding place from the pursuit she expected. When the reeds 295 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:26.559 grew thinner around her and the water rose about her thighs, 296 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:29.960 she saw the dim loom of an island ahead of her. 297 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:33.559 A broad span of water lay between, but she did 298 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:37.720 not hesitate. She waded out until the low waves were 299 00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:42.759 lapping about her waist. Then she struck out, strongly, swimming 300 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:47.720 with a vigor that promised unusual endurance. As she neared 301 00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:51.319 the island, she saw that it rose sheer from the 302 00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:55.200 water and castle like cliffs. She reached them at last, 303 00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:58.680 but found neither ledge to stand on below the water, 304 00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:03.359 nor to cling to above. She swam on, following the 305 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:06.720 curve of the cliffs, the strain of her long flight 306 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:10.960 beginning to weigh her limbs. Her hands fluttered along the 307 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:16.000 sheer stone, and suddenly they found a depression. With a 308 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:19.799 sobbing gasp of relief, she pulled herself out of the 309 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:24.279 water and clung there, a dripping white goddess. In the 310 00:24:24.359 --> 00:24:28.799 dim starlight. She had come upon what seemed to be 311 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:33.759 steps carved in the cliff. Up them, she went, flattening 312 00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:36.920 herself against the stone as she caught the faint clack 313 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:41.160 of muffled oars. She strained her eyes and thought she 314 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:44.319 made out a vague bulk moving toward the reedy point 315 00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:47.400 she had just quitted, but it was too far away 316 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:50.720 for her to be sure in the darkness, and presently 317 00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:56.240 the faint sound ceased, and she continued her climb. If 318 00:24:56.319 --> 00:24:59.920 it were her pursuers, she knew of no better core 319 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:03.119 than to hide on the island. She knew that most 320 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:07.279 of the islands off that Marshy Coast were uninhabited. This 321 00:25:07.559 --> 00:25:11.039 might be a pirate's lair, but even pirates would be 322 00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:15.799 preferable to the beast she had escaped. A vagrant thought 323 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:19.480 crossed her mind as she climbed, in which she mentally 324 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:24.079 compared her former master with the Kozakh chief with whom, 325 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:28.880 by compulsion she had shamelessly flirted in the pavilions of 326 00:25:28.920 --> 00:25:33.160 the camp A fort Agori, where the Hyrcanian lords had 327 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:37.920 parleyed with the warriors of the steps. His burning gaze 328 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:43.240 had frightened and humiliated her, but his cleanly elemental fierceness 329 00:25:43.640 --> 00:25:48.759 set him above jalal Khan, a monster such as only 330 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:54.359 an overly opulent civilization can produce. She scrambled up over 331 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:58.359 the cliff edge and looked timidly at the dense shadows 332 00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:02.720 which confronted her. The trees grew close to the cliffs, 333 00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:08.279 presenting a solid mass of blackness. Something worred above her head, 334 00:26:08.279 --> 00:26:12.440 and she cowered, even though realizing it was only a beat. 335 00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:16.640 She did not like the look of those ebony shadows, 336 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:20.880 but she set her teeth and went toward them, trying 337 00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:24.720 not to think of snakes. Her bare feet made no 338 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.240 sound in the spongey a loam under the trees. Once 339 00:26:29.319 --> 00:26:33.799 among them, the darkness closed frighteningly about her. She had 340 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:37.359 not taken a dozen steps when she was no longer 341 00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:40.079 able to look back and see the cliffs and the 342 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:45.279 sea beyond a few steps more, and she became hopelessly 343 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:50.200 confused and lost her sense of direction through the tangled branches. 344 00:26:50.680 --> 00:26:56.279 Not even a star peered. She groped and floundered on blindly, 345 00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:01.720 and then came to a sudden halt. Somewhat ahead, there 346 00:27:01.759 --> 00:27:05.599 had been the rhythmical booming of a drum. It was 347 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:08.680 not such a sound as she would have expected to 348 00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:12.440 hear in that time and place. Then she forgot it, 349 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:15.920 as she was aware of a presence near her. She 350 00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:19.640 could not see, but she knew that something was standing 351 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:24.359 beside her in the darkness. With a stifled cry, she 352 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:27.680 shrank back, and as she did so, something that even 353 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:31.960 in her panic, she recognized as a human arm curved 354 00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:36.119 about her waist. She screamed and threw all her supple 355 00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:40.720 young strength into a wild lunge for freedom, but her 356 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:44.559 captor caught her up like a child, crushing her frantic 357 00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:49.680 resistance with ease. The silence with which her frenzied pleased 358 00:27:49.720 --> 00:27:54.640 and protests were received, added to her terror as she 359 00:27:54.839 --> 00:27:59.759 felt herself being carried through the darkness toward the distant drum, 360 00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:13.119 which still pulsed and muttered. End of chapter three, Chapter 361 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:16.799 four of The Devil in Iron by Robert E. Howard. 362 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:22.720 This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter four. 363 00:28:25.799 --> 00:28:29.519 As the first tinge of dawn reddened the sea, a 364 00:28:29.599 --> 00:28:34.720 small boat with a solitary occupant approached the cliffs. The 365 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:39.000 man in the boat was a picturesque figure. A crimson 366 00:28:39.079 --> 00:28:43.720 scarf was knotted about his head. His wide silk breeches 367 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:48.039 of flaming hue were upheld by a broad sash, which 368 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:53.920 likewise supported a scimitar in a chagrin scabbard. His gilt 369 00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:58.200 worked leather boots suggested the horsemen rather than the seamen, 370 00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:02.440 But he handled his boat with skill. Through His widely 371 00:29:02.519 --> 00:29:07.920 open white silk shirt showed his broad muscular breast burned 372 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:11.920 brown by the sun. The muscles of his heavy bronze 373 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:15.599 arms rippled as he pulled the oars with an almost 374 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:21.079 feline ease of motion. A fierce vitality that was evident 375 00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:26.039 in every feature and motion set him apart from common men. 376 00:29:26.359 --> 00:29:30.319 Yet his expression was neither savage nor somber, though the 377 00:29:30.359 --> 00:29:36.400 smoldering eyes hinted at ferocity easily awakened. This was conan 378 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:40.440 who had wandered into the armed camps of the Kazakhs 379 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:43.960 with no other possession than his wits, and his sword, 380 00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:48.599 and who had carved his way to leadership among them. 381 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:52.720 He paddled to the carbon stair as one familiar with 382 00:29:52.839 --> 00:29:56.599 his environs, and more the boat to a projection of 383 00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:01.200 the rock. Then he went up the worn steps without hesitation. 384 00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:07.160 He was keenly alert, not because he consciously suspected hidden danger, 385 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:11.319 but because alertness was a part of him, wetted by 386 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:17.240 the wild existence. He followed what Goznapi had considered animal 387 00:30:17.319 --> 00:30:22.400 intuition or some sixth cents, was merely the razor edge, 388 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:27.200 faculties and savage wit of the Barbarian Konan had no 389 00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:30.680 instinct to tell him that men were watching him from 390 00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:34.519 a covert among the reeds of the mainland. As he 391 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:37.559 climbed the cliff, one of these men breathed deeply and 392 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:43.200 stealthily lifted a bow. Jehangir caught his wrist and hissed 393 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:48.119 an oath into his ear. Fool, will you betray us? 394 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:52.839 Don't you realize he is out of range. Let him 395 00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:56.519 get upon the island. He will go looking for the girl. 396 00:30:56.839 --> 00:31:01.160 We will stay here. Awhile he may have sensed our 397 00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:04.960 presence or guessed our plot. He may have warriors hidden 398 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:11.079 somewhere we will wait in an hour. If nothing suspicious occurs, 399 00:31:11.720 --> 00:31:13.799 we'll row up to the foot of the stair and 400 00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:16.920 await him there. If he does not return in a 401 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:20.480