"He has swallowed poison!" cried Dade, arousing himself at last, and rushing forward. "I saw him do it!"
The eyes of Lazaro—those fearful eyes—were lifted to the face of Frank Merriwell for a moment. A haze seemed spreading over them. The lips of the man moved. Silence fell on the room, and all present heard him say:
"Merriwell, you have brought death to me at last. To escape you and to escape imprisonment, I die at last. Even yet you shall not escape me. I shall haunt you after death! I will bring you at last to your miserable end! Adios!"
Then the lips were still, the eyes partly closed.
"He is dead!" said an officer.
"Not until I hear him proclaimed dead by a reliable physician will I be satisfied," said Frank. "Bring in a doctor."
A short time later a doctor appeared. The physician knelt beside Lazaro and made a careful examination, silently watched by the others. At last the doctor rose to his feet, saying:
"There is no question about it, the man is dead."
THE END.