Avon Fantasy Reader No. 8 — page 106: what you’re looking at

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

102 3 JOHN MICHEL And brand new! Laying quietly a few feet beneath their faces I became sud- denly suspicious. | “Is it queer?” I asked and crinkled one of the notes between my fingers, The one with the biggest head looked up from the copy of “Gone With the Wind.” “It shouldn’t be,” he said nonchalantly. “We got them out of the U.S. Treasury vaults in—what did you call it?—oh, Washington.” I went through the floor. ; Piles of books accumulated. Luckily I had my own apartment, so nosy chambermaids never interfered. The only thing that got interfered with was my private life. They monopolized my time, got me to quit my job and alienated my girl. It was awful. When I came home one night with the ring she threw in my face, I looked the mob squarely in their excuses for faces. They were a bit ashamed. ~ “But why?” I cried, burying my head in my arms. They gazed at me stonily then. | “It was necessary. It is all in the rules.” I looked up angrily; “What rules?” “The underlying rules.” The heads swayed smugly. I picked up a book and threw it at them. It went past the row harmlessly. . : "Underlying what?” I asked, dropping helplessly back to the bed. One of them started to talk in Russian. He was quickly slapped down. The biggest of the heads cocked one of its eyes at me. “Everything,” he said. “Everything.” From the moment they began giving me money I never wanted for com- fort. I even moved out of the apartment to a swankier place uptown. The goblins failed to appear for several days after this and I began to feel that the Visitation was over. When I woke suddenly the fourth night, I realized im- mediately that what I had done was O.K. by them, They proved it by com- ing back. They looked carelessly at the bookcases. Be “You have bought us no new books,” said one, wagging a finger at me. I lit a cigarette and put one arm under my neck, » “I have been moving. I apologize. What do you want?” “Books.” A dozen mouths formed the word. I became irritated. “I am grateful for everything you -have done,” I stated, “Yes, even the bad things, like taking my girl away and making a damn slave out of me. I have always wanted comfort and now I’ve got it. But couldn’t you get your books at the public libraries? They have three and a half million at the 42nd St. branch. Think of it! Books on every subject,’ books covering all the phases books:com) ie)