A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, October 1950 — page 44: what you’re looking at

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

THE ELIXIR OF HATE 43 for more of this ghastly mystery, he once again approached the coffins. Quite calmly now, with careful and trained mind applied intently to the prob- lem, he again felt the caskets, one by one, from end to end of the row. Yes, there were certainly eighteen of them, grading from large to small, and each bearing a metallic plate. Passing his fingers over the tops of the coffins, he determined that some were far more recent than others. The wood of several had, despite the dryness of the cavern, begun to molder a little. These, he in- ferred, were much the oldest, though by how many years he could of course form no idea. Having determined this point, he set himself to examine the plates. “Perhaps,” thought he, ‘there may be some clue here.’ But he could discover nothing. The scratches on them, if indeed these formed letters and inscriptions were too shallow, too fine for him to read by the mere sense of touch. So, after many fruitless efforts he abandoned the attempt. “T’ll take two or three of them along with me, anyhow,” he decided. “They may be useful—in case I ever yet out of here. If I don't, no harm’s done.” With his stout pocket-knife he carefully and laboriously pried the nails from three of the plates. Gne blade broke, but he persisted with the other. It was a matter of perhaps twenty minutes to dig the plates clear, but he stuck to the job, and after a time had them safely pocketed. With excellent judgment he chose one from the largest, one from the smallest, and one from a medium-sized casket. sewsaviona. wEw TEMG CREAM FOR FO gor ITCH FUNG/ ON f="? - REGULAR USE HELPS & ORUGGISTS _ 60 SECOND RELIEVE ITCHING - SOOTHES © yr GUARANTEED ) BURIVING BETWEEN CRACKED ae : ZING MUST a _. an A= PEELING FOES AlDS HEALING AMAZINGLY # iL) - cf 4 es * » 4 Ti Oi ’ * = ‘ 7 : , ** —_ = aN WAR USEO *¥ IM HOSPITALS ‘VME RELEASED TO g¢ SATISFY YOUN | hve auco Tey AMZING Ki A WEEK- OR ~ MONEY BACK! | GecAséLESS, STAWLESS ALL QRUGEISTIS ONLY 60+. TUBE “These,” he meditated, ‘‘ought to give me some idea of the contents of them all. I wonder if I couldn’t find my way out now ?” He was half minded to attack one of the caskets with his knife. But a mo- ment’s reflection convinced him that with no other tool than this the task would be tremendously difficult. Time, too, was passing. The prisoner seemed as far as ever from any exit out of this clinging dark, any return into the light of day. The black sightlessness, the close and fetid air, were once more beginning to oppress him heavily. Over him surged a passionate wave of longing for liberty and for the sunlight. And, stretching up his arms, clenching his fists, he cried: “Out! Out of here!” Taking his bearings as best he could, he began creeping toward the point where he judged he had entered the chamber. And in effect he did presently find him- self in a passageway once more. This he followed for some minutes, noting its gradual rise, a turn here, an angle there, without seeming to feel that he was (after all) making any particular progress. Then all at once he remembered the woolen thread. Hastily he dropped to his knees, and, groping about him, sought to recover the clue. But though he minutely explored the entire floor of the passageway, he found nothing. Up he got, and now, aimlessly, began to blunder along. Lacking the thread, he could not even get back to the place where he had first realized he was astray. He might, indeed, have tried to find the death-chamber again, and thence again B/N LAB TESTS Bee ey TING CREAM <f'S PROVEO EFFECTIVE /OURING & TYPES OF WOW ATHLETES Foor_<* LVEN /F OFFER -— AS Foy { TING CRLAM TODAY! IN KILLING SPECIFIC Foy (C(O) nn) (C 6)(0)©) cS (C(O)