A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, February 1950 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

THE SMOKING LAND 13 The doctor did not answer me at once, but bumped along on top of his horse with his elbows flopping up and down. All I can say of his riding is that it was just about what one would expect from a mathematician. Finally he said: “Mr. Cassidy, I wish to tell you some- thing.” “Go right ahead,” said I. “As long as there isn’t an X plus Y squared in what you say, I’ll try to follow you. By the way, nearly everyone about here, includ- ing Darrell, calls me Smoky. That will shorten some of the things you need to say.” He thanked me, but he wouldn’t use the nickname. He said, continuing, “I believe you feel that I have a friendly at- titude towards Darrell?” “Yes. I’m not able to find any other reason that could have brought you on this ride tonight. Something tells me that you’re not very fond of riding.” “Ah, and how could you have guessed that?” said he. “TI don’t know,” said I. “I just had the idea.” ‘One may always admire,” said the doctor, “‘the insight which every man is apt to show within his own province. But if you'll take it for granted that I am fond of Darrell, both as a man and because of my great admiration of him as a scientist —and if you will realize that my private fortune, in addition, has been sufficient for every need I have had in my life, then—” He paused, and I was still as a mouse. I realized that Dr. Franklin was telling me things which ordinarily I should never have heard him say even if I eaves- dropped. He went on with a good deal of effort. “In spite of all these things, and others which bind me to act as a man of integ- rity, Mr. Cassidy—in spite, I say, of so many bonds, even I have been tempted !” His voice dropped and was little more than a hoarse whisper. And I could guess, then, with half a mind, that the soul of the doctor was a great deal taller than his inches. , I pondered this thing bit by bit. “Was it hard cash that was offered, Dr. Frank- lin?” J finally asked. He cleared his throat, and made another difficult pause before he answered. “The money was only a part of the offer. The: other part—if you don’t mind, it’s a thing about which I cannot very well speak.” Of course I could not press him. But I. took to wondering what all-powerful devils must be after poor Darrell when they could almost buy the soul of a gentle- man like Franklin, a famous man, a wealthy man, a man of honor! WHat would be my price, for in- stance? If they could budge Dr. Franklin, they certainly could budge me. And I wondered, with sweat on my face, what my upper limit would be, and what besides coin they would throw into the scales? Things like that make long miles. But finally we climbed the rise and saw from the divide that tarnished sheen of the water behind the dam, and the glitter- ing of the lights that swarmed along the left side of it. Lights of a town, when one rides toward them, always seem to shift and stir about like a busy swarm of bees, and all that sense of movement was to me, on this night, a preparation of trouble to come. We went down the slope beyond, and then up, climbing steadily, with very few, words spoken, until we got to the village, where the houses of employees were stretched along regular streets, with a lot of well-watered green about them, not to be seen, but breathing out through the darkness. And I could hear the whirring of lawn sprinklers, now and then, and the thin whisper as the spray of it cut the air. It was a pleasant moment, on the whole, but like the flowers of a funeral, all of this beauty only served to depress me, now. The quiet was the expectant hush before the fight begins. We put up our horses in the company stables, and then went to the main build- ing where the laboratories had been estab- lished. They had about an acre of rooms of one sort or another, all at the disposal of Dr. Cleveland Darrell, and they sup- plied him with money for his experiments, and besides that, he had all the immense flow of water power that the dam con- trolled to use for his experiments. In return, he did a nit of work for them in his odd moments, I wondered how they) GOMIIGooo S C@ iin