A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, December 1949 — page 20: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

_ CHAPTER 3 "Theories of Dr. de Keradel _¥ GAVE Bill the old Fraternity high- _ —f sign of distress, and after introduc- di tions he bore me away, leaving the _ Demoiselle Dahut to Helen and Dr. de Keradel with Dr. Lowell. I felt an urgent need for a drink, and said so. Bill passed me the brandy and soda without comment. I drank a stiff brandy neat. - Helen had bowled me off my feet, but that had been a pleasant upset, noth- = ing that called for any alcoholic lever = to right me. The Demoiselle Dahut had been an entirely different matter. She was damned disconcerting. It occurred _ to me that if you compared yourself to a ship bowling along under full sail, with your mind as a capable navigator and Brough charted seas, Helen was a squall that fitted normally into the picture—but ee: the Demoiselle was a blow from a new quarter entirely, heading the ship into = totally strange waters. What you knew of navigation wouldn't help you a bit. I said: — - “Helen could blow you into ‘Port = _ 0’ Paradise but the other could blow you $ a= dato. Port o Hell.” ___ Bill said: “Who?” = ~ JT said: “The Demoiselle d’Ys.” He stepped back; he said, as though = something was strangling him: =e = “Who’s the Demoiselle d’Ys?” ee I looked at him suspiciously. a “Don’t you know the names of your “That girl down dYs de SS paests?” I grunted. = ‘there—the Demoiselle Dahut = = - Keradel, ” - Bill said, rather dumbly: “No, I didn’t. now that. All Lowell introduced her by = _ was the de Keradel part of it.’ After a minute, he said: SS Sather drink won't hurt you. = | B28 _ We drank; he said, casually: == “Never met them till tonight. De - Keradel called on Lowell yesterday morn- _ ing—as one eminent psychiatrist upon an- _ other. Lowell was interested, and_in- oe Sted him and his daughter to dinner. The ee old boy is fond of Helen, and ever since = she came back to town she’s been hostess at his parties. She's fond of him.” =<! ee ~~ ae ay, wat. ted : = — “Probably Pll join Mt 7 be _—_ * os a ¥ * =. A. MERRITT’S FANTASY He drank his brandy and set down the glass. He said, still casually: “T understand de Keradel has been here for a year or more. Apparently, though, he never got around to visiting us until those interviews of mine and yours appeared.” I jumped up as the implication of that struck me. I said: = “You mean—” “T don’t mean anything. I simply point out the coincidence.” “But if they had anything to do with Dick’s death, why would they risk com- ing here?” ‘To find out how much we know—if anything.” He hestitated: “It may mean nothing. But—it’s precisely the sort of | thing I thought might happen when I baited my hook. And de Keradel and his daughter don’t exactly disqualify as the sort of fish I expected to catch—-and es- pecially now I know about the d’Ys part. Yes—especially.” He came round the table and put his hands on my shoulders: “Alan, what I’m thinking wouldn’t seem as insane to you, maybe, as it does to me. It’s not Alice in Wonderland, but Alice in Devil-land. I want you tonight to say anything that comes into your head. Just that. Don’t be held back by polite- ness, or courtesy, or conventions or any- thing else. If what you want to say is insulting—let it be so. Don’t bother about what Helen may think. Forget Lowell. Say whatever comes into your mind, If Keradel makes any assertions with which you don’t agree, don’t listen politely— challenge him. If it makes him lose his temper, all the better. Be just alcoholic enough to slip out of any inhibitions of courtesy. You talk, I listen. Do you get it?” I laughed and said: “In vino veritas. But your idea is to — make my vino bring out the veritas in . the other party. Sound psychology. All right, Bill, I'll take another small one and see what happens.” He said: “You know your limit. But watch your step.” 7 WENT down to dinner. I was — feeling interested, amused and devil- — may-care, The image | had of the De- Ml GCOmMic boo te ye Paks Fins ‘