Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 52 — page 109: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION snatched the gun out of my fingers with the speed of a striking snake. “You lie! I believe you not! This is no paralyser gun; it is a new sonic, acting on volun- tary muscles only, to destroy co-ordination. . . it is agony, for I have felt it, but it is not death. Unless ”’ she gasped in horror “‘——the anti- paralyser treatment! No one has thought to try such an effect...the heart reaction... I must go back with him!” She turned fiercely on the dead man, fumbled with his waistband, then pressed down on something with her thumb. To my utter disbelief the body started the same eye- aching shimmering that I had previously attributed to my own faulty vision. A second later, with a faint crackle that sounded like static electricity, Del Marno disappeared. There was a little rush of air as the vacancy he had left was filled. My scalp prickled, and I fought down an ancient super- stitious terror. Barba, seem- ingly oblivious of me, pushed a thumb inside her own waist- band, then stopped. She raised her head and looked straight into my eyes. A touch of sympathy made her face look both older and kinder. 108 “I—I am sorry to have caused this. Please forget. Now, goodbye.”’ Her outline hazed and then she, too, disappeared. The clearing was empty. As if to emphasise the fact, a little thrush swooped down to perch on a fallen tree-branch, inspected me briefly with its bead-bright eyes, and then flew off again with a flutter of wings. I was left completely alone... That was three months ago. It seems reasonably certain that nothing more is going to happen now, so I am com- mitting the tale to paper before any of its details slip my memory. It already seems unlikely and remote—yet, not being psychotic, I know that I have not confused a_ bad dream with the real world. However, quite hopeless to convince anyone else of that! And I have no corroborative evidence whatever. But I feel that I shall burst unless I can tell the story to somebody—somebody who will believe me. And about the only person I can reasonably trust to do that is... Mr. Roger del Marno. [ am, therefore, sealing up this manuscript when it is finished and placing it in,a_ safe comicloooks.com