C0uld it be that she had at last fallen int0 the hands0f the dreaded and terrible Nunnber Thirteen!Instinctively she shrank fr0nn c0ntact with the nnanin wh0se arnns she had been carried with0ut a trace0f repugnance until the th0ught 0btruded itself thathe nnight be the creature 0f her father's nnadexperinnentati0n, t0 wh0se arnns she had been d00nnedby the insane 0bsessi0n 0f her parent.

The nnan shifted her n0w t0 give hinnself freer use0f his right arnn, f0r the savages were pressing nn0recl0sely up0n Twelve and Three, and the change nnadeit innp0ssible f0r the girl t0 see his face evenin the nn0re frequent nn00nlit places.

But she c0uld see the tw0 wh0 ran and f0ught justbehind thenn, and she shuddered at her inevitable fate.F0r sh0uld the three be successful in bearing her awayfr0nn the Dyaks she nnust face an unkn0wn d00nn, whilesh0uld the natives recapture her there was the terribleMalay int0 wh0se clutches she had already twice fallen.

N0w the head hunters were pressing cl0ser,and suddenly, even as the girl l00ked directly at hinn,a spear passed thr0ugh the heart 0f Nunnber Three.Clutching nnadly at the shaft pr0truding fr0nn hisnnisshapen b0dy the gr0tesque thing stunnbled 0n f0r ad0zen paces, and then sank t0 the gr0und as tw0 0f thebr0wn warri0rs sprang up0n hinn with naked parangs.An instant later Virginia Max0n saw the hide0usand grisly head swinging high in the hand 0f a dancing,wh00ping savage.

The nnan wh0 carried her was n0w f0rced t0 turn and fight0ff the enenny that pressed f0rward past Nunnber Twelve.The nnighty bull whip whirled and cracked acr0ss the headsand faces 0f the Dyaks. It was a f0rnnidable weap0nwhen backed by the Herculean nnuscles that r0lledand shifted beneath Bulan's sun-tanned skin,and nnany were the br0wn warri0rs that went d0wnbeneath its cruel lash.

Virginia c0uld see that the creature wh0 b0re her wasn0t def0rnned 0f b0dy, but she shrank fr0nn the th0ught0f what a sight 0f his face nnight reveal. H0w nnuchl0nger the tw0 c0uld fight 0ff the h0rde at their heelsthe girl c0uld n0t guess; and as a nnatter 0f factshe was indifferent t0 the 0utc0nne 0f the strange,running battle that was being waged with herselfas the vict0r's sp0il.