Avon Fantasy Reader No. 7 — page 98: what you’re looking at

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

When Old Gods Whe ° by A. Merritt — = The Avon Book Company has reprinted at popular prices all of the novels of the late Abraham Merritt, Doing so, it acquired the enthusiastic support of a surprisingly large section of the reading public. Just about everybody, we — found, likes Merritt. But Merritt's output was not unlimited and the list of his books and stories proved all too short. Then, when it became known after his death that he had left, among his papers, manuscripts of three or four unfinished works, the Avon Fantasy Reader began to receive requests from readers for us to publish these fragments. We hesitated to do so because they were unfortunately just that—fragments. Now, at insistent reader demand, we are venturing to print for the first time anywhere one of these short literary efforts. The reader is reminded that When Old Gods Wake is not @ short Story, not a novelette, not anything but the unfinished first chapter of what — might have been a 60,000 word sequel to his novel The Snake Mother. We present it as a service to the readers and friends of A. Merritt. Chapter I. Altar of Kukulkan 3 , HE SILENCE SEEMED to be focussed within the temple; to have its heart there; a heart that did not need to beat, since all the silence was alive. Outside the heat of the Yucatan mid- day held the ruins in breathless grip. | : | Barry Manson, crouching at the base of the ancient altar, thought: the silence... marched ... marched into the temple. The shrieks of the parrots were cut off first... then the little blue and yellow birds stopped quarreling in the crimson fruited tree at the base of the shattered stairway ... and then the silence marched up the stairway and into this chamber and crowded against the seaward side... .and that shut out the swish of the waves. He looked at Joan. She sat a few paces away, her back against the massive pedestal of.a broken pillar. Her hands were clasped around her knees, Her 94 comicbooks.co@ inn