S
ILLUSTSA TED FEATURE SECTION
jim«* i». n» 2 t>
THE CREEPING THING
Cora Jeun Violen
A Story of (ïr u e s o m e and H au ntin g M ystery
T h e W eU-Kntturn
S e r ia l W rite r
WH*I M»» <•<»«■• MIUU
♦ h ad old D iaro n ’a version of*
th e occurrence, she scoffed at
___________
I I m k U M p I t i t M *
th e
idea
of s u p e r n a tu ra l
M
M»«**
agencies.”
!»<•••« * m 4 lit«
| | a |I U M
M r« « a li
4M «4 M « * * M *
« lite
"Oltl Meme knew too much
lila
*fw
iM iif
k it
r e t a r m •• •
?••»«
m tm m
|l«a « » •**•
* »•
«Ml»
about the really inexplicable
.«
ta*
»••*
••
»
m
*
*
>
li*«
h a p p e n in g s t h a t occur in t h e '
• ■ l i n • • • * ilk*
•••»♦»
4»* i
n-mpo«!« •( IM* ■* I* ••a*(klk| *»**r
voodoo
cerem onies of h e r na
I k t a r a a M e* » «4 * M a
tive H aitian ju n g le s ,” I threw
ihMt M»iJ atM
mi
»v*rlk**4
mmé
1*1«
«fetMM M*« M* e • k a * a t a I i a • w a * 4 a 4 4M*
in, " to allow a m ere u n e x
a a iU t •
M *4f
»1*
plained m u rd e r aud th e dis
» » « « M M ...
I k * M * 4 ? M a* M * * a W l « • #
II» » r • • • * • #
4 M a
M* • • • ! » • *
l h *»
a p p e a r a n c e of th e body to
g . l a lk * a a te g a « « »
* •* » • •
U sai
iM c I 4
kM
4 l» ê k T k « » 4
frig h ten h e r .”
f aia r»*4**lrk. • fl*»*« 4 M » « Ilf* U
“ Y ea?” Hut for once her
ia. a a a 4
ta 4M* »••* Mf M u f r U « 4
A l a lona •
reasoning must have been at
a « a «• * a a »4M IM* 4 a »
fa u lt.” T h e re was sadness in
C M A I'IK K II
the conviction of Alec’s voice,
IIK
Kmintnes« sadncMs and a thin th r e a d of
of Ale«’)« brow n face w ha t in an yone else I w ould
t u r n e d anxiously ut>-! have called fear.
w a rd to w a r d th e alow-.
A P la n .
Iv moving coach w indows of
“ In spite of all any of us
I h<- incom ing tra in , p re p a re d could do.” he continued, “ she
im- for aomethiiiK more th an insisted th a t if we would let |
Ins le tte r had told me. It did h er stay in th e room all night
not nave me from th e ahock- alone, she could solve the
ing im pact of th e newa hi* m ystery of old E zra's d •atii
very find word* c a rrie d to a n d m a y b e — h e r m aybe was
my consciousness. however. I alm ost sinister in its im p lica
" I t 's got old Meme this t i o n as she said it— produce
time. T o m .” he shot a t me in his body, or p art of it. T h e r e
a h o arse w h is p e r without , is no doubt th a t Meme sus-
o th e r g re e tin g or preface.
pected so m eth in g th a t was
"W hat
do you
m ean. i explicable, at
A l e c ? ” I clu tch e d a f te r my to none of th e rest of us.
vanishing
com p o su re with
“ Old Diaron seem ed al-!
th e question. It w as not like most as fe a rfu l of h e r in th at ¡
Alec to be so ag ita te d . His mood as we were, w ho at 1
em otions had alw a y s been length consented for h e r to
held as well u n d e r control rem ain for the night in that
a s w ere my own. It gave me j uncanny octag o n a l room .”
an u n ca nny sense of im m a Alec p aused am i d re w a long
nent f e a r to see him a p p a r j b re ath . T h e eerie m ystery
ently so upset.
I. must be of-this thing h a d gotten Alec.
th e effect of his physical . 1 could see it in th e a w e d and
w eakness.
| b a ffle d look of his.
"W ell— ”
I w a n te d to “ I/eaning fo r w a rd and b ra cin g m yself against th e bulk of th e m an in front of me, t
I could tell by th e gra y p a l
lor th a t u n d e rla y his o r d i n a r rouse him from the brief si g rip p e d th e heavy iron knob in both h an d s and gave a g re a t heaving tu rn w ithout w a rn
ily h e r lt h y bronze color, th at lence th a t seem ed to grip ing. . . . ”
he w as still fa r from well. him. He s ta rte d a n d looked
T his tho u g h t b ro u g h t me up at me. T h e ghost of a smile some liniment for h e r rheu-®*0 th e murder, but he ap p ea red veryaW e ail listened In ten tly
with u je r k , a n d my mind touched his lips. “ Yeah, it’s mutism, re tire d to th e Otta- mysteriously the day alter H."
;
“ ““fi
au to m a tic a lly d ro p p e d back got me. old mail. " Alec could omini morti shout ilusk -in d 1 Alec seemed to be waiting for some ! ÌJ2*
4 ,leavy body m ight make If
gonal
room
a
b
o
u
t
dusk
-*n<t
,
onunenl
,rolll
me
but
,
made
uon(.
o
y
r
tn
uneven
sur
ace-a
to norm alcy. I smiled. Hut alm ost
a lw a y s
re a d
my
, sound as if some huge u n g a in ly r e p -
Alec did not re tu r n my smile. th o u g h ts like th a t. He said shut h erself in. She was firm SO Ite went on
He was th e re w ith us th a t n ig h t
<7 a " Un* ° vfr Ul* «*“ £ «
11 is eyes seem ed to grow he could see them in my eyes in h er stipulation t h a t no u n a n d Alene Ilard m o re. th e new worn- abo"
l* a d ‘
P *
d
ue
p
re
cau
tio
n
s
should
be
a n deteeU ve tlia t w anted to com e In 1 " 'L “
paral,ysi \ oi u 'rr; r u
m o re anxious as he stare d though no one else h ad ever
w
ith
us
o
n
th
a
t
last
case
S
he
cam
e
“ w r *•»
tak
en
.
W
e
felt
it
best
to
h
u
s t ra ig h .ly and seriously into been able to re ad any more
Into tills on th e in v ita tio n of voting ta rin g a t each other. T h e n a s it
m or her. so, with th e sole d if Selw
seem
ed
th
e
ho
rrib
le
T
H
IN
G had
my face.
yn , G a r la n d 1 it seems. T h en
th a n I wished them to re ad
ference of o u r presence in th e th e re w as Ja k e ; you know J a k e is w ound its stow len g th across the
W e ir d .
there.
w
idth
of
th
e
room
in
w
hich
b ac k sitting room a t th e left th e m a rsh a l now and th e county T h ere was a s h o rt silence. we sat
“ i t ’s passed the smiling
I had le arn ed to control
coroner. D octor V arant. th a t was all
T h e n a duU th u d tlia t se n t a
s t a r e . T o m ,” he said, and his my fe a tu re s in the best and below sta irs ami Diaron in his except m yself "
o r th ro u g h th e whole house, a n d
usual
seat
at
th
e
e
n
tra
n
c
e
of
We were a t th e gate of m y m o th trem
voice was as g ra v e as his most d a n g e ro u s of schools—
-silence
s hom e now I w anted to liear the
face.
" I t ’s weird ami h o r th e school of crim e d etecting. the ‘n a r r o w h a ll,’ she was left e re r st
of A lecs story. I knew m o th e r
rible beyond th in k in g about, Hut, Alec J o n a s and I had to deal with th e occasion in would u n d e rsta n d U n l i k e m ost *In premonitory dread the listen
mothers,
m ine was not of th e ner- ers in that room rose as one man
th e
w ay
this
m ysterious been boys to g e th e r and, be her own m an n er.
S he loved Alene Hardmore was the first among
W
h
o
besides
yo
u
rse
lf
w
«*!
1 1 ith creeps upon its victims sides th a t, in s e p a ra b le chum s
.,
....
• „„
bravery, a n d she was proud of my us to reach the outer hall, but G a r-
record a s a detective
and ta k e s them into oblivion. in p leasure an d in d a n g e r. I 111 the S i t t i n g room ?
a lth o u g h she land Selwyn passed her there and in
I w as a detective, a n d in knew
dan g ero u s c h a ra c te r of my six bounds was up the stair and at
Nnat rhea them out of life and So. he, p e rh u p s of all persons,
m v - l i w i v o f r r i m e a n ,I r r i m i
*'ork fuH W<‘U 1 lnv,u“d A,ec ln
u * entrance to the narrow hall be-
t h e n — conaumes them , leav
A Strange Prescience
“W D lsron. Wide-eyed and fear
could sense c h a n g es th a t rn> to d y i t Cf inie a n d r r i m i
ing no tra c e .”
rials
I
knew
th
a
t
every
d
e
ta
il
T h,
of
betw een
“ « ■ *""
«¡¡f
o th ers could not. a n d he felt
, L ?*■ *
whei!
I picked up my parcels the know ledge t h a t was mine a n d every individual, how- mother and me was in n o wise in -
ever rem otely con netted w ith p e e r e d with bem use of its brevity ^ o n iac ^
01 ^ o c ,a 'fan * 1
t h a t I h a d set d o w n to g ra s p w ithout words.
" l ™ h o n T w u k e ’:s h in d
hU h an d ^
my fr ie n d ’s h an d , an d fell in
He clea red his th ro a t and a crime, must be ac counted iVm
^ ftrd ‘' **“‘n P j
to step beside him. We t u r n s h ru g g e d us if th ro w in g aside for. I knew th a t Alec J o n a s .in the solution of Uie m ystery of h r
aa a
a Keen
L p p i i wittecl
w i t t e H obse
n l w , .r r v
v .»
E E P IN
G _ more
° II OT-.W
r S.
nom-
e r r iii'
T H l * I^ vn
0 house
and ^ a n d T H E Ul(. C R killd
that
shilsaer.
i t was
as if we eouw
ed to w a r d the high b o a r d th e incubus o f p u zzled fear- u was
a
n
d
un
u
su
ally
well
endow
ed
w
ith
m
ad,
everyth
in
g
easy
for
those
ab
o
u
t
,n "',?0 n ' of ,iU
w alk leuding into th e single
th e in stin c ts of th e tru e d e te cto r of i heT g,, ^ w(Ls onlJ a nlatu?r oi a , ^
< ylv en n g th ro u g h the room _ I te
pave,I Main s tre e t of Mel-,
..Ww„ tht. up>lhot of the crim e, but I saw th a t th e weird and „ . rv frw m l„ u te s before Alec a n d I ^
bulk. ,narlr1« " “M y. d re ad fu l-
unusim l C lia m rtfr of t!»e crim e ho
tn
lih rarv in r.im - ly in such close proxim ity to us
Vl *'
. „ . 'w h o l e m a tte r w as th a t we all
was like the vibrations of no earthly
"N ow . tell me about it,
th o u g h t m aybe, Meme, being imiid** ” Td,n" ril’r *,1» rP, > a n a ly tim i aanitw lches and m ir pipes a n d th e as- creatures, rather It was as if the very
qu erie d , my o w n j m . c e j t r a v e a w am an HllU a hit— well, a m tna
su ra n ce a t a n u n d istu rb ed h o u r of corridor reeled unde- the dragging
A b rief tjumttontn« „ g la n c e shot | ^
thp , . lvs and
„
case length of some super-hum an m on
as th e mood d e m s n d e d sud bit u n ca n n y — might get to across
ster.
Alec a race
He looked u p ,
,..... ..
my confidence in his jiidg-. I th e bottom of th e m ystery or a t m e w ith an odd little shadow in
u p 41
In fo rm atio n
"Behind us tn a line. Riling the
his eyes
passage to IU leig(Ui
"We were all talking." Alec re narrow
m ent d ecreed.
Iat JeilHt get a line t h a t we
iC ont tinned oi
on page
Garland
sumed at leagth. “when suddenly It
"Y ou know
m ight c a tc h hold of a n d — “Oh, I forgot," he said "I hadn't seemed that some strange p rescience1
wa.nn ( Afraid of a n y th in g . | jle WJIM v rry fjrm -n (| ¡naist- told you about the coming of old of evil fell about us like a pall Each
A r e Y o u L o o k in g
Tom.
M em ber how us kids e M a |)OUt i t . Old Diaron is Ezra’s nepliew. Garland. You knew, one looked at the others We all felt
of course, of his younger brother
U mu almost ss If we were
u.Hod to try our H allow e eii HO (VMwpletHy a t her bidding who cited years ago- tho one who silent.
waiting far som ethin« -we knew not
B u s in e s s
tric k s on her a n d haw ^ * i |Ufte r forty y e a rs of henpeck- married the H aitian woman and what.
lived with her In the hinterland of
“Then, faintly at first, we sensed
only
the the H aitian Jiuigles Well. G arland same thing unusual about the <)ualtly
O p p o rtiin itv ?
,, e ’ no .
< f ^°iT[ in*. th a t he m ade —
'*• **—
w eirdly successful they m tght poorest of A„ imi in th e gen Is
th e son of that marriage and -the of that silence. It seemed to develop
heir
to
old
Esra's
wealth
I
a
new
elem
ent
Som
ething
was
mov
At1
r lk s? w
her.
He turned up guite suddenly the ing above our heads furtively. I
fo
Well she was ju st the, o ral a _ tte m p t ^ to „ d issnade
,
C LA SSIFIED ADS
day after »he murder; na one seem s ! bent forward The faces el my eom-
A
t t e m p t e d S o lu tio n .
s a m e w ith this T hing
o n P a g e 7 in th is I s s u e !
te know just why or how It Is oer- pam om seemed tense and breathless
’Anyhow,
Meme.
with ta in he was not tn th e vicinity prior In the stillness so liarribly disturbed 1
“S p ite of th e fa c t th a t she
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ii
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