A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, December 1949 — page 59: what you’re looking at

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

CREEP, SHADOW! —— ee eee - I signed it Alan Caranac and sent it off _ by messenger. Then I waited for Bill. I _ drew some comfort from the thought that _ the Demoiselle evidently knew nothing of how I had escaped from her turret. That, _ at least, meant that her powers, whatever they might be, were limited. Also, if those _ damned shadows had any reality except in the minds of those who strayed into her _ web of suggestion, the idea I had planted _ might bring about some helpful confusion - in her menage. ; Promptly at four Bill came in. He _ _ looked worried. I laid the whole thing be- - fore him from start to finish, not even _ passing up the poker party. He read the - Demoiselle’s letter and my reply. He looked up: a “TI don’t blame you for last night, Alan. But I rather wish you had answered this— _ differently.” § “You mean accepted it?” . He nodded: “Yes, you’re pretty well _ forewarned now. You might temporize. _ Play her along a bit . . . make her believe you love her .. . pretend you would like _ to join her and de Keradel.” “Sit in on their er” ' He hesitated, then said: _ while.” _ I laughed: “Bill, as for being fore- _ warned, if that dream of Ys she conjured _~ up means anything, it means Dahut is a _ damned sight better forewarned than I _ am. Also, much better forearmed. As for _ temporizing with or playing her—she’d _ see through me in no time, or her father _ would. There’s nothing to do but fight.” He asked: “How can you fight—shad- ows p” _ I said: “It would take me days to tell ~ you all the charms, counter-charms, exor- _ cisms and what not that man has devised _ for that sole purpose—Cro-Magnons and without doubt the men before them and _ perhaps even the half-men before them. Sumerians, Egyptians, Phoenicians, the Greek and the Romans, the Celts, the Gauls and every race under the sun, _ known and forgotten, put their minds to it. “But there is only one way to defeat the s ee ow-sorcery—and that is not to believe “Abed “For a little He said: “Once I would have agreed with you—and not so long ago. Now the idea seems to me to resemble that of get-_ I said impatiently: “If you had tried a good dose of hypnotism on Dick, counter- suggestion, he’d probably be alive today.” He replied, quietly: “I did. There were reasons I didn’t want de Keradel to know it. Nor you. I tried it to the limit, and it did no good.” | And as I digested this, he asked, slyly: “You don’t believe in them, do you, Alan—in the shadows? I mean in their reality?” “No,” I answered—and wished it were the truth. “Well,” he said, “your incredulity doesn’t seem to have helped you much last night!” | WENT to the window and looked out. I wanted to tell him that there was another way to stop the shadow sorcery. The only sure way. Kill the witch who did it. But what was the use? I’d had my chance to do that and lost it. And I knew that if I could relive the night—I would not kill her. I said: “That’s true, Bill. But it was because my disbelief was not strong enough. Da- hut weakens it. It’s why I want to keep away from her.” He laughed: “Well, if you won’t go be won't. Now I’ve some news for you. Keradel has a big place on Rhode Island. I found out about it yesterday. It’s an isolated spot, hell gone from no- where and right on the ocean. He keeps a yacht—sea-going. He must be almighty rich. De Keradel is up there now, which is why you had it all to yourself with the Demoiselle. Lowell sent yesterday for Mc- - Cann and McCann is coming in tonight to talk things over. It’s Lowell’s idea, and mine, too, to have him go up and scout around de Keradel’s place. Find out what he can from the people about. Lowell, by the way, has gotten over his panic. He’s— rather deadly in his hatred for de Kera- del, and that includes the Demoiselle. T told you he is all wrapped up in Helen. Thinks of her as a daughter.’ I said: “But that’s a damned good idea, Bill. De Keradel spoke of some ex- periment he is carrying out. That’s un- doubtedly where he’s working. His labo- ratory. McCann might find out a lot.” oO Eomichooks 59 ting rid of a cancer by denying you have — it €O