A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, December 1949 — page 98: what you’re looking at

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

There was mercilessness in the rippli ng of the little waves of her laughter. “Con- tinue to be gay, my Alan. Perhaps some day I shall give you that opportunity.” : GHE tapped her horse with her crop, and cantered off. I ceased feeling gay. Why the devil had I allowed Helen to be : brought into the talk? Not choked men- tion of her off at the beginning? I followed close behind Dahut, but she did not look at me, nor speak. 2 We went along for a mile or two, and ~ came out on that haunted meadow of the ee crouching bushes. Here she seemed to re- ete = gain her good humor, dropped back beside ae me. She said: wis “Divide—and rule. It is a wise saying, git that. Whose is it, Alan?” we I said, “So far as I know, some old note Roman’s. Napoleon quoted it.” an “The Romans were wise, very wise. es ___ Suppose I told my father that you had put this thought into my head?” I said, indifferently, “Why not? Yet if it has not already occurred to him, why forearm him against yourself?” She said thoughtfully, strangely sure of yourself today.” He vA “You are ht a8 “Tf I am,” I answered, “it is because mi there is nothing but the truth in me. So a if there are any questions upon the tip of ae your lovely tongue whose truthful answers eras might offend your pegartttael ears—do not me ask them of me.’ — _ She bent her head and went scudding Masts over the meadow. We came to the breast of the.rock which I had scaled on our first ride. I dropped from my horse and began to climb. I reached the top, and turning, saw that she, too, had dismounted and was looking up at me irresolutely. I waved to her, and sat down upon the rock. The fishing boat was a few pened yards away. I threw a stone or two i into the water, then flipped out the all bottle in which was the note to McCann. One of the men stood up, stretched, and : began to pull up the anchors. [called out to him, “Any luck ?” _ Dahut. was standing beside me. A ray of the setting sun struck the neck of the - small bottle, and it glinted. She watched it for a moment, looked at the fisherman, then at me. I said, “What is that? A fish?” “MA <<. » = - —_ 4 4 —s § b SE GR RA CIC A hie RA i EME eS Hee SR RE $F * hel ote”, 4 Pry A N N id : } hel MSR: ea hoy ret is Ty oes ih, pu Tepe No = s b by thm e087 4 Nov eo dy aw . d > j a j rRiat ‘ (,/ iy) Ayes ‘ \eBas +4 h ae s - ae \ Sy ed ' 4 ps ait af, % } | ~ a €. “a 4 A. MERRITT’S FANTASY Maen te #: pbs A Pye She did not answer ; stood cadying’ men in the boat. They rowed between | and the bottle, turned the breast of r C ; and passed out of sight. The bottle stil glinted, rising and falling in the swell o the sea. SS She half lifted her hand, and I coule have sworn that a ripple shot across th water straight to the bottle, and an edd: caught it, suddenly sending it swirling toward us. = I stood up and caught her by the shoul ders, raised her face to mine, and ki her. She clung to me, quivering. I her hands, and they were cold, and helped her down the breast of rock. Toward bottom I lifted her in my arms and carried her. I set her on her feet beside the horse. Her long fingers slipped around my throat, half strangling me ; she pressed her lips to mine in a kiss that left me breath- less. She leaped on the bay, and gave it the quirt, mercilessly. She was off over the meadow, swift as a racing shadow. | I looked after her, stupidly. I mounted the roan . I hesitated. wondering whether to cend the breast again to see if McCann’s men had come back and retrieved the bottle. I decided I’d better not risk it, and rode after Dahut. : She kept far ahead of me, never looking back. At the door of the old house she flung herself from the back of the bay it a little slap and went quickly in. bay trotted over to the stables. I turned across the field and rode into the grove o oaks. I remembered it so well that I knew precisely when I would reach its edge “~“ face the monoliths. I reached the edge, and there were t e | standing stones, a good two hundred of them lifting up from a ten-acre plain and hidden from the sea by a pine thatched granite ridge. They were not gray as they had been under fog. They were stained red by the setting sun. In their center squatted the Cairn, sullen, enigmatic and evi The roan would not pass the thresh of the grove.. He raised his head and sniffed at the wind and whinnied; began to shiver and to sweat, and whinny grew shrill with fear. "The swerved and swung back into the oaks. gave him his head. Lae ~<d @