Ju ly 13, lttütt
IL L U ST R A T E D F E A T U R E SECTIO N
2
THE CREEPING THING
A Story of Gruesome and Haunting Mystery
tnr worsts
L ir a
*— n -1
4**«4
S « h iv a
•(
u>
n y ilu w a a
aual
bow «
•» u » r
* m I
la ff« a a 4
S r i» y o
IR t
(H 'T 4 U » N « L
raa *
te»»lt
w h ic h
w as
an
la
m\mt
MOON
IW
t» ir u tlr * l
a
a r tjl-
te r
U m
• r a a | » a c y • t has
hnA r w ho w as
l e s t in lb « \ood*><* i n f ru t rtf J s u | k i * f
H a it i.
» h r m a r d c r h a d b r c n p«r< etfrtf
h? k a n i M r » a a n i s a ( ( R I l T I M i a» I
a ir t a t srrp rn t s * r *
r r a w l in «
aw r
(M ad.
I t w a s d iM a v r r v d
h«
D i* r « u
h i s II a 111An s e r v a n t
» h o . w it h h is * M
w itr
M ra a r
a r r th e » I f a r r a p a n U • !
th e hAa.se e t h e r t h a n h i w a t K .
A f t e r h a v b » f k e e n v ie w e d hv s e v e r a l
pro|>ie t h e b e d s is te u n tf te h a v e v a n
is h e d w h e n t h e c o r o n e r a p p e a r s o n th e
sern e.
N a t r a c e o f it is fo u n d
T h e n e a t n ig h t
M r a ic
» h a h as p re
v a il e d e p o ii t h e c & r t a l e tv l e t h e r t r v
t e v a lv e t h e m y s t e r y b y s t a y i n g in th e
ro o m e f m y s te r y
is a ls « m n r d r r e d a n d
s p i r it e d a s a y ,
A le n e H a r d m e r e
a w e m a n d e t e c t iv e .
tu ks g o t t e n p e r m is s io n t o t ry t h e p e rtl-
«>■ * e v p e r i m e n t
th is
tim e .
a lth a u gh
t h e (au a o u s d e t e c t iv e . T o m
F r e d e r ic k ,
h a s bebn s n m m o n e d 1 « ( h r e a s e hy b is
f r i e n d a n d c o w a r k e r . A le e J o n a s
Me
is t a r r e d to g iv e p r e a e d e n r e
fa r
t h is
f ir s t n ig h t to M is s H a r d m a r e . a d o m i n
e e r in g
and
u n p le a s a n t
per m u
»ha
tra g g s a f
her
a b i li t y
U
s o lv e
th e
p io b le m .
N o » gw a n » i t h th e s t o r y .
»y
H o rn
J t'M ii
M o l l 'l l
Tkr * M -ä *o w n
Sr rial If rUr r
♦turned with one accord to the*
'tall, blank space of the closed
¡doorway leading into the oe '
jtagonul room. It stared back
at us like a sealed entrance
to a tomb. Shrugging my
shoulders as if to rid them of
a
horror, intangible but,
; nevertheless, very renl^ I
raised my voice to its normal
outdoor pitch. It was an ef
fort of which my companions
j were as conscious as 1.
Investigation.
“Come on. Alee, let's in
vestigate this blind
alley
here.” I vociferated. “We
may find the lair of this
Thing that creeps about. It
must be the father and
mother of all the pythons,
from w hat you guys are tell-j
mg me about it. And if i t * 1
INSTALLMENT IV.
; is. it's got to have a den
HEN that fateful somewhere; it can’t possibly
door of destiny do its deadly work and then
The!
closed with a sin vanish into thin air.
darned
Thing's
too
big
for
ister thud.
on
Alene Hardmore. that. And if it eats its prey, j
I turned around to Alec and it's got to lie away some-!
smiled. There was some- where to digest it. Come on,
thinK of relief in beinjr rid of let’s get going.”
With a bravado I did not
the big dominating, black
personality of her. It was a feel, 1 turned and went into
relief that made me forget the short corridor with the
for the moment that she was tiny window high up— its
shutting herself in with a only opening— which separa
ted the octagonal room from
But in sudden rage at the water of fear that seemed to be rising silently in my own
very real peril.
A bit heightened probably the rest of the house, lying veins as that sound kept on in the dreadful house, I swore viciously at the old man and
tore his clinging hands from my arms.
by my own skepticism as to toward the front.
Alec followed me in si
the deductions arrived at by
those who heretofore had lence. Old Diaron sank with came again to the wide hall' wondering if 1 m isfit not be upi kHuditenly. as tfs plumy branches
been in the position of ob a sigh of exasperated con
ag ain st som ething supernatural.
swayed above ntc I Umuglit I saw
servers, or rather hearers, I cern into his chair just out and looked down at old Dia- I looked a rm ** a t old Diaron 1,-an- a dim glow where but a m ooien l
ron,
there
was
something
a
side
the
narrow
hall.
It
liiK
bark
ag
ainst
the
wall
w
ith
his
was loathe to accept even
previously U irre hud been black lies*
Alec's explanations of just seemed to say: “Go on, bit worried in my glance. He ch a ir les* tilted in air Hi* sphyux- I stopped. KbrupUy. My breuth
black face save me no com fort cam e in short, sh arp gust*
1 held
what had occurred on the young fool, there» nothing said nothing, but pursed his llke
"W e m ish t a* well have a smoke m yself m otionless
Above me in die
two previous occasions of the but your own personal ex lips in the knowing way he while
we a re w ailing.” 1 opiiud. and
weird and eerie manifesta perience that will teach you 'had. “ Well, so you are be pulling nut my cig arette*. I offered | black velvet night lowered the g rea t
m as* o f llie octagonal tower o f hor
liken
to
my two companion!
tions of what they all spoke isense.” Diaron was a fatal ginning to doubt your omnip
ror and m ystery. T h ere wn* no m is
a n k * " Alee took one.
of with bated breath as the ist. His sigh was prophetic. otence,” the expression said. " “I T h never
take
I hud seen u taint glow In
smoke anythin g but my j those windows high up there above
The
corridor
was
irregular.
Creeping Thing.
old pipe. M o n sieu r"
D iaron
took me
I
shook
myself.
I
didn't
"B
u t'
I tin,light a fte r Uie Itrst
his strong «rented old cob pi|>r I startled m om ent.
w hat of
th a t?
Alec did not smile in re It followed the contours of ' intend to let the first setback out
and began filling it
the
two
sides
of
the
octagonal
T lie woman In th rre would n atu rally
turn. Instead his face was
get
my
goat.
“
If
Uie
T
hin
g
ca
n
stand
the
odor
have
a
light.
T
h
e
g
reat
randies
grave with something of hor room that faced the front of
of O u t pip« o f your*, I union
f would give some such glow ' Y r t I
“W ell,” I said, “one swal m
I held my
ust be a pretty tough cu stom er.” I < ontlnurd to stand ami stare. ."F u r."
ror behind the gravity of it. the building.
Joked
I
t
seemed
to
me
tfia
t
If
I
low
doesn't
make
a
spring
my thought, "why did you
“ We ought not to let her flashlight high and examined land one theory doesn’t prove didn't do som ething to relieve the reiterated
not observe the light wlirn you nrst
serious co ncern of those two. and a t looked up th e r e ? "
do this, Tom,” he said and those walls carefully. They a fact.”
the sam e tim e break th e tension of
were smooth and solid all the
"Y o u 're getting as hervou* a* a
his voice was troubled.
my iiv ii rapidly heightening nurvou* grandm other. T o m ." I s|s»kr aloud to
way
up.
I
turned
my
atten
“There
aren’t
any
theories
“But, Mon Dieu! who can
sym pathy with their mood. I would
Im 1« I- UM I M M and
stop her? Such a femme, tion to the straight wall of I about Ezra’s murder ami go B loco.
Mime sort o f ralirnng laUm into my
u t there seemed nothing th at ' mind and my nrrves T h a t
the
room
from
which,
sep-
Meme’s.”
The
words
were
H ard-
so — so — ” Old Diaron'»
would bring them ou t of it. They
ore woman tuts simply lighted a
voice as he broke in, was a ! arated by the width of the 'coldly and calmly conclusive. both seemed wropiied in an alm ost m
so n icU iin g *
cloak of dread and e x candle to Investigate
Hut In spite of my words, I shook
study in concern, vexation passage between them, they Alec spoke them at my el- tangible
p ectan t horror
rayed
away
in
oblique
lines
m yself Into action and turning on my
|
bow.
and helpless exasperation.
B ittin g thus together Alee and 1
"W ell, I guess you must be had brought ch a irs from the ndioin- heel* strode hurriedly Into the hounr
He broke off abruptly. There ¡from the central angle of
A fih a stly Sound
ing bedroom we smoked a while in
were no words strong enough their joined corners. Like the right there, Alec, hut if this silence. At last I could stand It no As the front «trsir rloard behind
to express his opinion of a other walls, it was smooth Thing gets in there tonight longer I got up and wiUi the escu i me. 1 heard It I thought ul first
and makes as much racket as th a t I wanted to look around some It was the sudnrn Jar of the r k e ln g
woman like Alene Hardmore, and solid.
I le ft them.
door
B u t on,v for an In sta n t din
The infinitesimal window 'you folks say it does, there’s m ore.
detective extraordinary, and
I sim ply had to get away from tin I en terta in
this m istake
T h ere
|
not
going
to
be
any
theory
tense
atm
osphere
of
horror
in
Koi-
and
the
doorway
leading
to
was
no
sound In th e world so un
woman hard-boiled.
wyn
House
T
akin
g
my
h
a
t
from
m
istakable
as
the
on,
th
a
t
fell
tipou
about
what
it
does
to
the
" I am inclined to believe the main central corridor of
fh e hall rack, where I had left It, i
giant
black
Hawkshawess
'
«
'
•
s
l
l
a
a
s
*
•
*
M
e
f<
a
i>
the
upper
story
of
Selwyn
I clapped It on my head and went
that the Creeping Thing will
t Into th e garden
find a match in the lady in House were the only open now grimly ensconced there ou As
I sauntered along the weed
in,
if
Tom
Frederick
knows
ings
in
the
place.
Alec
had
question,” I soothed them,
grown p aths th a t had oner
been
himself.”
I
ostentatiously
beau tifu lly -laid -ou t brick
walks. T
Do You W ant Som e
facetiously, although some been right, there was no ex
looked
up
a
t
the
shadowy
walls
j loosened the big forty-four th e big pile o f stone and brick th a of t
thing in the mystery and un planation here.
canny silence of the place
I was just a big chagrined. strapped in its holster be was Intended for the home of Imp
P x l r n M o n e y ?
for young Kara .Selwyn and
was slowly getting into my I had been pretty sure that neath my arm and fiddled I is ness bride,
Mary.
”B o," I m uted,
for
a
moment
with
the
other
blood. I did not feel as un I would find some explana
“does life bring
to nad ght the
Look Over Our
concerned as I would have tion here— some clew to a at my waist, smiling determ dream s of m an ”
T h e rising wind
was gathering
inedly
the
while.
them think.
C L A S S IF IE D ADS
possible mode of entrance
black cknxls together like som e giant
At the entrance to the anti egress from without— in " I hope m ." F or ail my bravado, fist closing over th e world, and
O n P a g e 11
som ething of th e fearfu l u n certain ty bu n d lin g g rea t shadows to fling
wide corridor we stopped that otherwise perfectly un in
A lec’s m ann er and tone seemed trees swayed uneasily tti the silence
and involuntarily our eyes explained passage. When I to s e t arrow, to me I found m yself ansoss and M ight Its light, lik e g reat
K
I
IN THIN W R K K ’H IHNIJK
SA V E D FROM M YSE LF -
The Paris Pepper-Pot -
A «sau g Is«
“
-
-
“
-
True M ary
a
.
“
- Page 5
- Pag« 9