by Guy d'Armen
They were now closer to the other bank and just about to make it when, unfortunately, a tree trunk carried along by the river came out of nowhere and crashed into the ferry, smashing it to pieces.
They all fell into the water and, at once, were carried away by the flood.
Ardan grabbed Suleyma and the bridle of a horse and, together, combining their forces into a single heroic effort, managed to set foot on solid ground on the bed of the river that was, fortunately, shallow where they were. After that, it was only a matter of fighting the current until they reached dry ground.
They saw that two men of their escort had been able to make it; the other two had disappeared, carried away by the river. Maybe they would be able to hold on to something and escape the raging waters further downstream, as Ardan had done on the Yenisei?
As for the Comte, he, too, had vanished. There was no trace of him, and Ardan doubted he could have survived the flood.
“Perhaps he was the reason that the Spirit of the river wasn’t merciful,” said Suleyma. “It took him, and let us go, after all.”
Ardan said nothing.
On the other bank, Chakar and his men, not seeing their former master reappear, turned back and rode away.
Suleyma left Ardan when they reached Urga, stating she wished to return to her people. Her family had business connections in that great city, and she would be well taken care of. Ardan left her wishing her all the happiness and prosperity that she deserved. He never saw her again.
Much later, he found out that, during the 1932 Mongolian uprising, one of the leaders of the rebellion against the rule of Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party in the northwest part of Mongolia had been a woman known as the “Giantess.”
She had seemingly succeeded in inflicting several painful defeats upon the Mongolian troops and their Soviet allies, but nothing more was ever heard of her and—if she was indeed Suleyma?—her ultimate fate remained a mystery.
Despite all the inquiries that were made, the Tuin River never produced the body of the Comte de Bertheville, a.k.a. Kyzyl Kaya or the Red Wizard.
At the French Legation in Shanghai, Ardan was introduced by the Ambassador to an intelligence officer, Captain Berthomieu, whose sharp, intelligent blue eyes shone behind two round horned-rimmed glasses.
“The Conte de Bertheville?” he said. “I mentioned his name to your predecessor around fifteen years ago. He was somehow involved with Yuan Shikai.9 A trouble maker, if you ask me. We have a file on him. I’ll go and get it.”
The Captain returned with a file which contained the photo of a man that looked exactly like the man Ardan had first met.
More troubling, the file referenced previous sightings of other Berthevilles in Mongolia and China going back to the late 1850s, labeling them as relatives of the current Comte.
There was no way to tell for sure if the Comte’s story about immortality was true, and if he had really been the same Eliacin Arthur Helion de Bertheville, Seigneur of Cassis and Co-Seigneur of La Motte, who had left France in 1715, but his fast aging and the wonders he had seen left no doubt in Ardan’s mind as to where the truth lie.
The young man briefly wondered if the Comte hadn’t taken with him one last power gem, but in the absence of any evidence either way, he merely reported the events of his death to Captain Berthomieu, who consigned them to the file.
The Archives of the French Legation in Shanghai were eventually destroyed by a fire started during the Japanese invasion, and no more was heard of the strange Comte.
The presence of mysterious underground cities located in northwestern Mongolia, such as the ones found by the Comte and Dorje, led Ardan to send a friend of his, a noted archaeologist, on a dig in Mongolia many years later.
What that friend found entombed in an ice cave, eventually convinced him to leave the Secrets of the Ancients undisturbed.
And the world was safe again.
The Reluctant Princess
by Randy Lofficier
Southern France, The 1920s
Doctor Francis Ardan (as he was known in France) was hacking his way through a massive forest of thorns on the side of a mountain in the Pyrénées. He felt as if he had no sooner chopped a pathway than a new batch was growing almost before his eyes. He would never get to the other side of the forest at the rate he was going. He was starting to feel discouraged.
He sat down to take a breather and to think about what had brought him on his strange quest. He had returned from his travels in the Far East, planning to take a well-deserved rest while doing some research on the Cathars of Montségur. But that research had awakened a curiosity he could not quench.
While reading about legends of lost treasures in France, he had come across a strange story. It was said that a young Noblewoman had been enchanted more than 400 years earlier in a village named Perceforest, somewhere in the mountains along the border between Spain and France. The legend had it that she would sleep forever, unless awakened by a stranger willing to brave the many enchantments which held her prisoner.
At first, Ardan had dismissed it all as mere fantasy; after all, it had to be a fairy tale. But something about the legend continued to eat away at him and he began to do further research. In the end, it seemed that there was clearly some truth to the whole thing. He was unable to let it rest and decided he had no choice but to set off to find the answer.
The difficulty of his quest had at least helped him to decide that it was true; but he was still unable to reach what he presumed was his goal: the other side of the enchanted forest. The explorer was no quitter; he knew there had to be an answer. If this was a “magic” forest, perhaps he needed to fight his way through it by unconventional means. Rather than using brute force, he decided to use some of the eastern methods he had learned on his journey through Tibet. He centered his thoughts and tried to feel himself becoming one with the forces of nature; in his mind’s eye, he pictured a path opening up through the tangle of plants, leading him to his goal. As he gently breathed in and out, he felt a change in the air around him. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and saw that a path had mysteriously appeared directly in front of him.
Still breathing in a set pattern, he began to walk through the forest of thorns.
The path curved and twisted until Ardan no longer had a sense of the direction he traveled. But his meditative breathing enabled him to remain calm and not focus on his fear of becoming lost. Eventually, after walking for what seemed like hours, but which had in reality only been mere minutes, the young adventurer found himself standing in front of a stone tower in the midst of a clearing. As he circled it, he was unable to see any opening in its rough surface. Without a doubt, this was another challenge.
He again tried Eastern meditation, but this time it had no effect. He thought about the legends he had read and tried to recall if there was anything in them that might give him an answer to how to enter the tower. Then he remembered a passage he had read that had talked about an event said to occur just before the mysterious enchantment had overtaken the young noblewoman. He looked at the tower and repeated a phrase supposedly spoken by her.
Immediately, a wooden door appeared in the wall right before his eyes. He turned the massive iron handle that held it closed, and as if it had been oiled the day before, it gently swung open on its hinges.
To Ardan’s surprise, the corridors inside the tower were brightly lit with glowing torches. He had no idea where to find the object of his search, but simply walked forward, certain that he would find her as this was now clearly meant to be.
The corridor spiraled around like the shell of a snail, and eventually the adventurer reached a chamber in what he perceived was its center. There, in a large canopied bed, was a beautiful young woman. She had cascading, golden hair and alabaster skin. Ardan felt mesmerized by her beauty. She lay motionless on the bed, but it was clear that she was not dead, merely in some state of suspended animation.
The young man circled the chamber, looking at the young wo
man from every angle as he tried to determine what he needed to do to awaken her. Finally, he decided that he would follow the blueprint laid out in every fairy story he had ever read or studied; he approached the beautiful Princess (for he was sure she must be a Princess) and bent over her to kiss her.
As his warm breath touched her face, her dark golden eyelashes fluttered and she opened her astonishingly beautiful sapphire-colored eyes. Ardan was shocked when she reached up a delicate hand and slapped him in the face!
He stepped back as the Princess sat up in her bed. “How dare you!” she exclaimed. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“I... I...” Ardan felt himself at a loss for words, something unusual for the sophisticated scientist. Finally, he was able to speak, “I’m sorry, your Highness. But you have been under a charm for many centuries. I have fought my way through a series of enchantments to come here to awaken you. I thought I would use a method that has been written about in many stories, and that meant I needed to kiss you for the spell to be broken.”
“I don’t care about you kissing me, sir,” said the beautiful young woman. “I want to know what gives you the right to disturb my peace and quiet!”
“I don’t understand. I simply wanted to help you. Weren’t you placed under this spell by an evil enchantress?”
“Of course not! I chose to enter this state. It is my sanctuary.”
“What reason could you have for such a bizarre thing?”
“You say that centuries have gone by, so perhaps you do not know what life was like for a young woman when I was born, sir. You cannot imagine how hard it was to be a woman with a mind of her own. I wanted to study and walk freely in the forests. I had no desire to be married off to some ugly, old horror of a man because it would gain my family lands and power. Indeed, I am not sure I desired to marry at all.
“If I did not marry, then my only choice was to wall myself off in a convent, and I fear I am not better made for the life of a religious, as I have a rebellious soul and do not take well to being told what to do by anyone, man nor woman.
“Thus, I chose to ask a sorceress of my acquaintance to place me in a state of peace and happiness to forever escape a life I could not bear to contemplate,” she looked at Ardan in sadness for what she had lost.
“My Princess,” said the explorer, taking her hand, “I think you will find a changed world awaits you! You no longer have to belong to any man if that’s your wish.”
“Will I be totally free?”
“No. No one is totally free, but I think you will approve of the world outside this place.”
“I suppose I can give it a try. But first, tell me how you managed to get inside my tower? I had thought that I was quite clear it was to be a puzzle that no one could solve.”
“Ah, that... It was something I read you had said on the day before the enchantment took hold of you.”
“And what was that?”
“No day is so bad that it can’t be fixed with a nap!”
Paris – Yet again we were astonished by an amazing feat of derring-do, as the latest flying ace on the Parisian scene, the amazing Phantom Angel, flew her bi-plane over the Eiffel Tower and climbed down a rope ladder (while somehow managing to keep the plane circling overhead!) to disarm the notorious anarchist Azzef who was threatening to blow up the radio transmitter at the top. Our City is certainly a better place for having a heroine of her caliber watching over us.
Joseph Rouletabille writing in L’Epoque.
Notes
1 A large, heavy flat board consisting of two pieces that closed around a prisoner’s neck with a hole in the center. It was common for people wearing cangues to starve to death as they were unable to feed themselves.
2 An allegedly authenntic anecdote.
3 Chrezvychaynaya komissiya, or Emergency Committee, the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created on December 20, 1917, after a decree issued by Vladimir Lenin, and was subsequently led by Felix Dzerzhinsky, a Polish aristocrat turned communist. By late 1918, hundreds of Cheka committees had been created in various cities around the country.
4 Capital of the Hubei province. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers, where the Han falls into the Yangtze. It was the site of a French concession from 1896 to 1943.
5 A tulku is custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism, who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his predecessor.
6 Demons.
7 (ca. 232–348 CE) Buddhist monk who was active in the spread of Buddhism in China.
8 Servants.
9 (1859-1916). Chinese general, politician and “emperor”, famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor, his autocratic rule as the first formal President of the Republic of China, and his short-lived attempt to restore monarchy in China, with himself as the Hongxian Emperor.
FRENCH MYSTERIES COLLECTION
M. Allain & P. Souvestre. The Daughter of Fantômas
A. Anicet-Bourgeois, Lucien Dabril. Rocambole: Two Stage plays
Guy d’Armen. Doc Ardan and The City of Gold and Lepers
Guy d’Armen. Doc Ardan and The Troglodytes of Mount Everest
A. Bernède. Belphegor
A. Bernède. Judex (w/Louis Feuillade)
A. Bernède. The Return of Judex (w/Louis Feuillade)
A. Bernède. The Shadow of Judex (w/Louis Feuillade et al.)
A. Bisson & G. Livet. Nick Carter vs. Fantômas
V. Darlay & H. de Gorsse. Lupin vs. Holmes: The Stage Play
Harry Dickson. The Heir of Dracula
Harry Dickson. Harry Dickson vs The Spider
Paul Feval. Gentlemen of the Night / Captain Phantom
Paul Feval. John Devil
Paul Feval. ’Salem Street
Paul Feval. The Invisible Weapon
Paul Feval. The Parisian Jungle
Paul Feval. The Companions of the Treasure
Paul Feval. Heart of Steel
Paul Feval. The Cadet Gang
Paul Feval. The Sword-Swallower
Louis Forest. Someone Is Stealing Children In Paris
Emile Gaboriau. Monsieur Lecoq
Emile Gaboriau. The Casebook of Monsieur Lecoq
Goron & Gautier. Spawn of the Penitentiary
Jean de La Hire. Enter the Nyctalope
Jean de La Hire. The Nyctalope on Mars
Jean de La Hire. The Nyctalope vs Lucifer
Jean de La Hire. The Nyctalope Steps In
Jean de La Hire. Night of the Nyctalope
Jean de La Hire/J.-M. & Randy Lofficier. Return of the Nyctalope
Maurice Leblanc. Arsène Lupin vs. Countess Cagliostro
Maurice Leblanc. The Blonde Phantom
Maurice Leblanc. The Hollow Needle
Maurice Leblanc. The Island of the Thirty Coffins
Maurice Leblanc. 813
Maurice Leblanc. The Many Faces of Arsène Lupin
Gustave Le Rouge. The Mysterious Doctor Cornelius
Gaston Leroux. Chéri-Bibi: The Stage Play
Gaston Leroux. The Phantom of the Opera
Gaston Leroux. Rouletabille & the Mystery of the Yellow Room
Gaston Leroux. Rouletabille at Krupp’s
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 1
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 2
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 3
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 4
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 5
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 6
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 7
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 8
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 9
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 10
Jean-Marc & Ra
ndy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 11
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. Tales of the Shadowmen 12
Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier. The Shadow of Judex
Frank J. Morlock. Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper
Jean Petithuguenin. The Adventures of Ethel King
Antonin Reschal. The Adventures of Miss Boston
P. de Wattyne & Y. Walter. Sherlock Holmes vs. Fantômas
David White. Fantômas in America
Pierre Yrondy. The Adventures of Therese Arnaud
IN THE SAME SERIES
Doc Ardan: The City of Gold and Lepers
Acknowledgements: We are indebted to Guy Costes for procuring a copy of the original texts.
English adaptation and introduction Copyright © 2016 by Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier.
Cover illustration Copyright © 2016 by Yoz.
Visit our website at www.blackcoatpress.com
ISBN 978-1-61227-483-6. First Printing. January 2016. Published by Black Coat Press, an imprint of Hollywood Comics.com, LLC, P.O. Box 17270, Encino, CA 91416. All rights reserved. Except for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The stories and characters depicted in this novel are entirely fictional. Printed in the United States of America.
