Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 51 — page 117: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION been trying to get hold of you for so long! It’s Mike—he’s gone! I can’t find him any- where and it’s been five hours now. Mrs. Garland at the farm says she saw him going towards the woods early this afternoon. Oh, darling, please come home—I’m scared. There’s all those pools in Blackdown and the old slate quarry.” As Geoffrey punched the starter and waited for the turbo unit to register maximum, he wondered how much truth was in the popular notion that, when thrashed hard enough, a turbo car just blew up under you. He thought there was one way to find out. It was in the small hours of the following morning that another car whined up the short drive-way to Geoffrey Tollen’s house and as _ he, Geoffrey, flung wide the front door a man strode out of darkness into the pool of light. “*Hello, doctor. You weren’t long—you must have made the trip nearly as fast as I did a while back.” The young scientist from 116 Emergency Research smiled his tired, lop-sided smile. *“When your phone call got me out of bed, I thought you were barmy or just hoaxing. And then when I realised you weren’t either, I came as fast as the car would make it.” His face grew serious and he added in what was almost a whisper: “Let me see your rabbit, Mr. Tollen! This suspense is awful!’ Geoffrey nodded and, turn- ing, led him up a flight of . stairs. Mary Tollen was wait- ing on the landing. She touched a finger to her lips and motioned them into a small, dimly-lit room. They formed a semi-circle about Michael’s cot. Mary leaned over and gently lifted a small, furry bundle out of the sleep- ing child’s arms. The doctor took it from her in silence and, as he did so, Geoffrey could have sworn he saw the man’s hands tremble. He carried it under the light; his thin fingers explored the body carefully and then, producing a tiny flashlight, he examined the creature’s’ eyes, mouth and throat. comiclbooks.corn