Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 67 — page 140: what you’re looking at

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

DR. BLAISE on its back. Then he crossed to his work bench and, from a drawer, extracted a pair of scissors and a small safety razor. He returned to the chimpanzee, and, picking up its front right paw, began briskly clipping away its fur at a distance of some three or four inches above. Open- mouthed, but curious in spite of a growing inclination to take to her heels, Varya stood close to the bars of the cage and watched. ‘““Now look closely,’’ said Dr. Blaise. ““Soon you will see something very interesting.”’ He had now clipped away the animal’s fur until there was a patch about two inches in diameter of close stubble. Then he took the safety razor and carefully began to shave off the stubble. By now Varya had become convinced that he was insane. What else could such seem- ingly irrelevant behaviour in- dicate? A course of action began to formulate in her mind. She would humour him. He seemed harmless enough so far. Then suddenly her attention became rivetted to the sleeping ape, and her mind was bereft of everything save a sense of unspeakable horror... | Upon the creature’s fore- limb there had emerged shrun- ken and blurred, but never- theless recognisable, a famil- iar tattoo mark—a crimson circle withan arrow protruding through it. His work completed, the doctor let the ape’s paw fall to the floor with a soft thud. The creature sighed heavily in its sleep and rolled over on to its side. “Behold, madam, your lover,’ said Dr. Blaise. Then he added, with a mocking smile on his lips, “Or rather— shall we say—what he has become.” But his wife made no reply, and he knew from the expression on her face that his revenge was now com- plete in all the essentials. Even Montresor had been surpassed. 139 comiclooks.cormn