The words were hardly out of the detective’s mouth, when the Cuban, with a snarl of rage, tore the cigar from Nick’s teeth and pressed the burning end upon the bare hand of his captor.
There were few things that would have made Nick Carter loosen his hold. The exquisite pain of the burning cigar was one of them, however.
Anybody who ever has been hurt in this way can testify that the red-hot ash sticks to the flesh in a cruel fashion, causing excruciating agony.
As Nick took away one hand, John Garrison Rayne pulled the other loose. Then, hissing defiance between his set teeth, he dragged a long knife from inside his coat and aimed a blow at the detective’s heart.
Nick Carter was unable to ward off the blow entirely, but it only cut a long slit in his sleeve. The next moment he had sei
