Under the desert stars

by Frank Koester

Copyright, 1923,
By FRANK KOESTER
All Rights Reserved

CONTENTS

CHAPTER	PAGE
I.	The Hypnotic Victim	[ 1]
II.	At the Morgue	[ 23]
III.	The Moon-Shiners	[ 34]
IV.	In Sporting Europe	[ 54]
V.	The Great Desert	[ 77]
VI.	The Dance of the Vampire	[ 95]
VII.	The Lovers on the Beach	[ 111]
VIII.	In the Clutches of an Amorous Caveman	[ 153]
IX.	On Camel’s Back through the Sahara	[ 180]
X.	The Lover’s Dream	[ 201]
XI.	Under the Knife	[ 235]
XII.	The Rum-Runners	[ 253]
XIII.	The Deadly Rival	[ 271]
XIV.	Getting His Ideal Mate	[ 291]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

[Frontispiece]
The Orgy	[ 63]
The Duel	[ 73]
The Vampire Dance	[ 101]
On the Beach	[ 113]
The Interim	[ 155]
The Struggle	[ 165]
In Distress	[ 177]
The Sand Storm	[ 203]
Saved	[ 315]

UNDER THE DESERT STARS

CHAPTER I
THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM

THE early spring sun was riding low in the heavens, going westward to seek its rest. The haze of twilight was creeping in upon the city from across the bay and the canyon-like streets of lower New York were already steeped in shadow.

Above the city rose the hum of industry and from the rivers the saucy whistles of tugboats, with their heavy laden barges, were telling those who would listen that they, too, were doing their bit.

But all this was lost to the girl standing at the promenade rail of the Queensborough Bridge, that massive structure spanning the East River, linking Brooklyn with New York. The girl, beautiful to an extreme, both in face and form, stood clutching the railing with a convulsive grip. Her eyes were set on something far in the distance and so far as the passersby were concerned, she was in another world.