A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, December 1949 — page 100: what you’re looking at

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

in: my wrist. the pulse in my neck and upon the pulse [ sighed, and turned, and seemed to sink again in deepest slumber. - And I heard her sigh, and felt a touch upon my cheek that was not of fingers. The fragrance stole away, soundlessly. Yet I knew that Dahut had paused before - the tapestry, listening. For long minutes - she stood there, and then there was the faintest of clicks, and I knew she had gone. | Nevertheless, I waited until the hands upon my watch-face pointed to eleven be- fore I slip out of bed, and drew on breeches, shirt, dark sweater and sneak- ers. The driveway to the house ran straight to the guarded gates, a mile and a half away. I did not believe this was patrolled, and I purposed to follow it within half a mile of .the gates, strike off to the left, reach the wall and skirt it to the rock ~ where McCann would be awaiting me. True, the keeper of the inn had said the breast could not be scaled from the water, but I had no doubt McCann would find a way. I should make it in half an hour, easily. I stepped out into the hall, crept to the head of the stairs and looked down. A faint light was burning, but there was no sign of servants. I stole down the stairs and reached the front door. It was un- locked and unbolted. I closed it behind me and merged into the shadow of a rhodo- dendron, getting my bearings. Here the driveway made a wide curve, unprotected by shrubbery. The scud had thinned and the moon was far too bright, but once the loop was crossed, there would be cover from the trees that bordered the road. I walked across the loop and gained the shelter of the trees. I waited a good five minutes, watching. The house re- mained dark, no lights from any window; no stir nor sound. I set off along the road- way. i] HAD covered a trifle under my mile when I came to a narrow lane angling ~ to the left. It was fairly straight, what I could see of it in the watery moonlight. It struck in the general direction of the rock, and promised not only a shorter cut but a safer way. I took it. A few score yards ~~, , é ; rHOW LA Hes 100 A. MERRITT’S FANTASY fingers, light as the touch of a moth, upon AAA and the trees ended. The lane continued, but bordered with scrub and bushes just too high for me to look over and far too dense for me to see through. a A half mile of this, and I began to have an acutely disagreeable feeling of being followed. It was an extremely unpleasar feeling—as though that which Filowedl was peculiarly loathsome. And suddenly c it was at my. back—reaching out for me. wheeled, snatching the gun from the hole ster. | There was nothing behind me. The lane stretched dimly back, and empty. q Now there was furtive movement in the | scrub that lined the lane; movement as of things flitting through the bushes to the measure of my steps, watching me, gloat-— ing upon me; and there were rustlings and whisperings and thin obscene pipings as — thought they talked of me as I sidled on” and on. That lane ended. Step by step I backed away from it until I could no longer hea the rustlings and the pipings. But still there was movement in the bushes and I knew the things watched me from them. IT turned and saw that I was on the edge of the haunted meadow. Sinister enough it had seemed by day, but it had been gay to what it was now, by night, under scud-veiled, waning moon. . I could not cross that meadow unless I did it quickly. I could not go back through” the piping things. I began to run straight: across the meadow, toward the wall. : I was a third over it when I heard the baying of the hounds. It came from the’ direction of the house, and involuntarily I stopped, listening. It was not like the c ys of any pack I had ever heard. It was “a tained, wailing, ineffably mournful ; with — the thin unearthly quality of the obscene pipings. The lane spewed shadow shapes. They were black under the moon and they were like the shadows of men, but of men ¢ -¥ formed, distorted, changed into abomina-— ble grotesques within a workshop in Hell, They were—foul. a The baying of the dogs was close, and with it a tattoo of hoofs, the drumming .) of a strong horse, galloping— a Out of the lane burst a great black stal al- lion, neck out-stretched, mane flyin Upon his back rode Dahut, ash-gold ii 1 e: comicbooks. ‘com