A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, December 1949 — page 40: what you’re looking at

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

BR * GAN veneya ‘t+ ae cf ee CP dt thwart ‘ ah re x shTF os iad Nei ns i} ay AJ ey RANA sek red 2 ARS a aes Oe 7 , - - A * a 5" A a3 nfl 304 ‘e “ f= - - * ss 3 a, io” ee nt See is <— —_ hy fray ea —— M > / f tie - Alain de Caranac. At eight. We have much to say to each other. Do not fail Meo as She slipped something in my hand. De Keradel said, “Soon I shall be ready for my greatest experiment. I look for you to witness it, Dr. Lowell. You, Dr. Caranac ... you... it will especially interest Till then—adieu.” He kissed Helen’s hand; bowed to Bill. I wondered with vague misgivings why he had not included them in the invita- tion. : At the door the Demoiselle turned, touched Helen lightly on the cheek. She said, “ ‘Some there be that shadows kiss—’ »? Her laughter rippled like little waves as she swept after her father and into the waiting automobile. CHAPTER 7 . The Doll-Maker’s Lover | RIGGS closed the door and walked away. We stood four in the hall, silent. Suddenly Helen stamped a foot. She said, furiously, “Damn her! She tried to make me feel like a slave girl. As if I were one of your lesser concubines, Alan, whom it amused your Queen to notice.” I opened my hand and looked at what the Demoiselle had slipped into it. It was an extremely thin silver bracelet, a half- inch band almost as flexible as heavy silk. Set in it was a polished, roughly oval black pebble. Incised upon its smoothed outer face, then filled in with some red material, was the symbol of the power of the ancient god of Ocean, who had many names long centuries before the Greeks named him Poseidon ; the three-tined fork ; his trident with which he governed his billows. It was one of those mysterious talismans of the swarthy little Azilian-Tardenois people who some seventeen thousand years ago wiped out the tall, big-brained, fair-haired and blue-eyed Cro-Magnons, who, like them, came from none knows where into Western Europe. Along the silver band, its jaws holding the pebble, - was crudely cut a winged serpent. Yes, I knew what that pebble was, right enough. But what puzzled me, was LAD A. MERRITT’S FANTASY the conviction that I also knew this par- ticular stone and bracelet. That I had seen them many times before . . . could even read the symbol ... if only I could force remembrance. . . Helen struck the bracelet from my hand. She put her heel on it and ground it into the rug. She said: “That’s the second time tonight that she-devil has tried to snap her manacles on you.” 3 Bill stooped and retrieved the bracelet. I dropped it in my pocket. Helen looked at me, grimly: “I don’t exactly—trust you with the Demoiselle, Alan. Something queer between you. I wouldn’t hunger after that white flesh- pot of Egypt if I were you. There’ve been a lot of misguided moths sipping at that flower.” I flushed: “Your frankness, darling, is of your generation, and your metaphors as mixed as its morals. Nevertheless, you need not be jealous of the Demoiselle.” That was a lie, of course. I felt the vague, inexplicable fear of her, suspicion, and a lurking, inexorable hatred—yet there was something else. She was very beautiful. Never could I love her in the way I could Helen. Still, she had some- thing that Helen had not; something which without doubt was evil, but an evil that seemed to me as though I had drunk of it long and long and long ago—and must drink of it again—and knew a deep thirst that could be quenched only by it. Helen said, quietly: “T could be jealous of her. I am afraid of her—not for myself, but for you.” Dr. Lowell seemed to awaken. It was plain that, sunk in his thoughts, he had heard none of our talk. He said: “Let us go back to the table. I have something to say.” . He walked to the stairs, and he walked like a man grown suddenly old. As we followed, Bill said to me: “Well, de Keradel was fair enough. He gave us warning.” I asked: “Warning of what?” Bill answered: “Didn’t you get it? Warning not to pursue the matter of Dick’s death any further. They didn’t find out all they hoped ‘to. But they found out enough. I wanted them to. And I did find out what I wanted.” Ebhoo Eomi S) + “—— es. fee ee ak a“ . odie X din dome 90 ON eee oe eee i