All-Story Weekly, March 1, 1919 — page 118: what you’re looking at

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

ness! With all the quickness of light a Spiral of the Shining One stretched out and eS encircled her. | At its touch there was an_ infinitely dreadful shrinking and, it seemed, a si- multaneous hurling of herself into its radi- = ance. And as it wrapped its swirls around : her, permeated her—the crystal chorus burst forth—tumultuously; through and through her the radiance pulsed. Began then that infinitely dreadful, but infinitely sg glorious, rhythm they called the dance of ee the Shining One. And as the girl swirled == within its sparkling mists, another and an- a other flew into its embrace, until, at last, = the dais was an incredible vision; a mad = star’s Witches’ ‘Sabbath, phantasmagorie = Macaberesque; an altar of white faces and a bodies gleaming through living flame; = transfused with rapture insupportable and ee horror that was hellish—and ever, radiant plumes and spirals expanding, the core of the Shining One waxed—growing greater— as it consumed, as it drew into and through itself the life-force of these lost ones! = | So they spun there, interlaced, souls a caught in the monstrous web—and there =a began to pulse from them life, vitality, as though the very essence of nature was fill- “2 ing us. Dimly I recognized that what I = was beholding was vampirism inconceiva- ZA ble! The banked tiers chanted. The mighty sounds pealed forth!—it was a Saturnalia of demigods — Yolara trans- formed beyond semblance of earth—her - * beauty flaring out into unholy and devilish, 7 and at once holy and wondrous fulfilment 3 impossible to tell— Whirling, murmuring, bell-riotes storm- ing, the Shining One began to pass from the dais down the ramp, still embracing, _____ still interwoven with those who had thrown themselves into its spirals. They drew =a along with it as though half carried; in = dreadful dance; white faces sealed—forever _ +: into that semblance of those who held = within linked God and devil—I covered my = eves! And the Shining One passed—passed on —was beside Olaf— 1 heard a gasp from O’Keefe; opened ‘my eyes and sought his; saw the madness depart from them as he strained forward, _ 460 ALL-STORY WEEKLY, Olaf had leaned far out, and as he did so two of the dwarfs beside him caught him, and whether by design or through his own, swift, involuntary movement, thrust him half into the Dweller’s path. The Dweller paused in its gyrations—seemed to watch him. The Norseman’s face was crimson, - his eyes blazing. He threw himself back and, with one mad, defiant shout, gripped one of the dwarfs about the middle and sent him hurtling through the air, straight at the radiant thing! A whirling mass of legs and arms, the dwarf flew—then in mid- flight stopped as though some gigantic in- visible hand had caught him, and — was dashed—it came to me as one would dash a great spider, with prodigious force, down upon the platform not a yard from the Shining One! : And like a broken spider he moved— feebly—once, twice. From the Dweller shot a shimmering tentacle—touched him— recoiled. Its crystal tinklings changed ‘into an angry chiming. From all about—jew- eled stalls and jet peak—came a sigh of incredulous horror. And all the while those dead-alive, who had danced with the Shining One, turned slowly within its sparkling mist—faces de- void of all human semblance—turning, slowly turning, in its coruscating net— chatoyant—like fireflies in gleaming, swirl- ing mist—God! “God!” The echo of my invocation came from O’Keefe. ‘“ Olaf threw him short!” But I knew that was not what had stopped his flight! Lugur, his face gray, all exaltation gone from it, leaped forward. On the instant Larry was over the low barrier between the pillars, rushing to the Norseman’s side. And even as they ran there was another wild shout from Olaf, and he hurled himself out, straight at the throat of the Dweller! But before he could touch the Shining One, now motionless—and never was the thing more horrible than then, with the purely hunian suggestion of surprise plain in its poise—Larry had struck him aside. Y tried to follow—and was held by Rador. He was trembling—but not with fear. In his face was incredulous hope, inexplicable eagerness. ECOMIEDOOKS. CO = ae oo i ae oo Sed z —— ’ : —_ r OO Senet Put , = — o>: a oA” gg io Seo Pe en => ~ -. ae Le PS Figs =: a wi HR , » a ra es Pe fet 4,4 i ae an 5 Ln as — os : A ere ee eee Be fg a ge IP i aa ae i RO a Eg LG