10-Story Book, July 1931 — page 42: what you’re looking at

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

40 10-STORY BEGINS ITS 30TH SUCCESSFUL YEAR! might be produced!’ “TI know this to be a fact; for I, myself; —the outstanding scientist of the age— have produced a living specimen which will startle the scientific world! “For years I have been working—day and night—and success has at last crowned my labors. Behold!” The maniac reached behind him and pulled a lever. Slowly a curtain, similar to that of a theatre drop, arose, and dis- closed to view a monster so horrible that Dorris Graydon shrieked aloud in frenzied horror! The hideous thing lay in a great glass vat of water. It had a head with a sort of face resembling that of a gorilla; the neck and shoulders of an alligator, and the trunk of a giant Gila Monster; while from the waist down—if waist it could be called—it had the form of a man, with the spotted, wrinkled skin of a gigantic frog! The head of the indescribable monstros- ity was held above the water, and it blinked its eyes and wagged its huge fin- like arms as though in greeting to the newcomer. Weird sounds came from its bulging throat, not unlike those emitted by a seal when juggling its fire-sticks in anticipation of its fresh-meat reward. Around the slimy prodigy swam sev- eral repugnant snakes of the water-moc- casin variety, and a few turtles. Crawl- ing sea-fungi lay on the floor beneath the abomination. Dorris sank to the floor in abject ter- ror, her eyes starting out of their sockets in astounded unbelief! Her reason tottered on its throne. She clasped her head between her hands and weaved from side to side! Was it all an awful nightmare? a horrid dream ?—or was she, too, going mad? Then an old joke came to her befuddled memory and she laughed a wild, hyster- ical laugh! She had thought of the old farmer who went to a circus, and saw for the first time in his life, an elephant. “Hell!” he exclaimed. “They ain’t no sich a thing!” That was the way she felt—“Hell! they ain’t no sich a thing!” but there it was—tright before her! She was looking at it with her own eyes! Seemingly from somewhere in space, she heard her Captor speaking once more: “The selections in this hybridized crea- ture were slow; years being consumed— years of disappointments and innumer- able failures—in search for ovums which would blend. . . . In my forthcoming ex- periment the idea of hand-transplanted germ-life will be discarded and direct in- fusion attempted. Science must know the truth as to whether a complete hy- bridization of man and beast, still has power within itself for further reproduc- tion. “And now my dear, you are no child and I feel that you have followed my rea- soning and fully understand my meaning. Without delay—will you kindly divest yourself of all wearing apparel. The room which you are now in will be filled with water and the glass door opened leading into it, thereby admitting my specimen, and a great scientific truth either proved or disproven.” The lights went out and the Stygian darkness almost strangled the girl! She was in absolute frenzy! She beat upon the walls until her knuckles were flecked with blood! She shrieked with all the power of maddened lungs! Suddenly she stopped short: her shoes were wet! Water was coming into the room! It rose rapidly to her ankles—her knees—! Young Colby had not waited for Mose to tell him whether or not Dorris had gone to the castle: he himself saw her when she entered the grounds. From the COMICOOOKS.:CO mn