Part 18 (2/2)
”And now I am going to give a demonstration of the theatrical possibilities of this new agent. Hardly scientific--but amusing.”
But it wasn't exactly amusing.
Arcot again donned the headpiece. ”I think,” he continued, ”that a manifestation of the super-natural will be most interesting. Remember that all you see is real, and all effects are produced by artificial matter generated by the cosmic energy, as I have explained, and are controlled by my mind.”
Arcot had chosen to give this demonstration with definite reason.
Apparently a bit of scientific playfulness, yet he knew that nothing is so impressive, nor so lastingly remembered as a theatrical demonstration of science. The greatest scientist likes to play with his science.
But Arcot's experiment now--it was on a level of its own!
From behind the table, apparently crawling up the leg came a thing! It was a hand. A horrible, disjointed hand. It was withered and incarmined with blood, for it was severed from its wrist, and as it hunched itself along, moving by a ghastly twitching of fingers and thumb, it left a trail of red behind it. The papers to be distributed rustled as it pa.s.sed, scurrying suddenly across the table, down the leg, and racing toward the light switch! By some process of writhing jerks it reached it, and suddenly the room was plunged into half-light as the lights winked out. Light filtering over the transom of the door from the hall alone illuminated the hall, but the hand glowed! It glowed, and scurried away with an awful rustling, scuttling into some unseen hole in the wall. The quiet of the hall was the quiet of tenseness.
From the wall, coming through it, came a mistiness that solidified as it flowed across. It was far to the right, a bent stooped figure, a figure half glimpsed, but fully known, for it carried in its bony, glowing hand a great, nicked scythe. Its rattling tread echoed hollowly on the floor.
Stooping walk, shuffling gait, the great metal scythe sc.r.a.ping on the floor, half seen as the gray, luminous cloak blew open in some unfelt breeze of its ephemeral world, revealing bone; dry, gray bone. Only the scythe seemed to know Life, and it was red with that Life. Slow running, sticky lifestuff.
Death paused, and raised his awful head. The hood fell back from the cavernous eyesockets, and they flamed with a greenish radiance that made every strained face in the room a.s.sume the same deathly pallor.
”The Scythe, the Scythe of Death,” grated the rusty Voice. ”The Scythe is slow, too slow. I bring new things,” it cackled in its cracked voice, ”new things of my tools. See!” The clutching bones dropped the rattling Scythe, and the handle broke as it fell, and rotted before their eyes.
”Heh, heh,” the Thing cackled as it watched. ”Heh--what Death touches, rots as he leaves it.” The grinning, blackened skull grinned wider, in an awful, leering cavity, rotting, twisted teeth showed. But from under his flapping robe, the skeletal hands drew something--ray pistols!
”These--these are swifter!” The Thing turned, and with a single leering glance behind, flowed once more through the wall.
A gasp, a stifled, groaning gasp ran through the hall, a half sob.
But far, far away they could hear something clanking, dragging its slow way along. Spellbound they turned to the farthest corner--and looked down the long, long road that twined off in distance. A lone, luminous figure plodded slowly along it, his half human shamble bringing him rapidly nearer.
Larger and larger he loomed, clearer and clearer became the figure, and his burden. Broken, twisted steel, or metal of some sort, twisted and blackened.
”It's over--it's over--and my toys are here. I win, I always win. For I am the sp.a.w.n of Mars, of War, and of Hate, the sister of War, and my toys are the things they leave behind.” It gesticulated, waving the twisted stuff and now through the haze, they could see them--buildings.
The framework of buildings and twisted liners, broken weapons.
It loomed nearer, the cavernous, glowing eyes under low, s.h.a.ggy brows, became clear, the awful brutal hate, the l.u.s.t of Death, the rotting flesh of Disease--all seemed stamped on the Horror that approached.
”Ah!” It had seen them! ”Ahh!” It dropped the buildings, the broken things, and shuffled into a run, toward them! Its face changed, the lips drew back from broken, stained teeth, the curling, cruel lips, and the rotting flesh of the face wrinkled into a grin of l.u.s.t and hatred. The s.h.a.ggy mop of its hair seemed to writhe and twist, the long, thin fingers grasped spasmodically as it neared. The torn, broken fingernails were visible--nearer--nearer--nearer--
”Oh, G.o.d--stop it!” A voice shrieked out of the dark as someone leaped suddenly to his feet.
Simultaneously with the cry the Thing puffed into nothingness of energy from which it had sprung, and a great ball of clear, white glowing light came into being in the center of the room, flooding it with a light that dazzled the eyes, but calmed broken nerves.
Chapter XVIII
EARTH'S DEFENSES
”I am sorry, Arcot. I did not know, for I see I might have helped, but to me, with my ideas of horror, it was as you said, amus.e.m.e.nt,” said Torlos. They were sitting now in Arcot's study at the cottage; Arcot, his father, Morey, Wade, Torlos, the three Ortolians and the Talsonian.
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