Avon Fantasy Reader No. 13 — page 119: what you’re looking at

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

oclock. It was a good night, he told himself, smeHing the clean, crisp air of autumn and the faint pungence of distant wood smoke. He walked unhurriedly, swinging his cane a bit less jauntily than twenty years ago. He tucked the muffler more securely under the rusty old top- coat and pulled his bowler hat more firmly on his head. He noticed that the street light at the corner of Maple and Jefferson was out, and he grum- bled a little to himself when he was forced to step off the walk to en- circle a bearded-off section of newly laid concrete work before the driveway of 816. It seemed that he reached the corner of Lexington and Maple just a bit too quickly, but he told himself that this couldn’t be. For he had never done that. For twenty years, since the year following his expulsion from the University, he had lived by the clock. The same thing, at the same time, day after day. He had not deliberately set upon such a life of rou- tine. A bachelor, living alone with sufficient money to supply his humble needs, the timed existence had grown on him gradually. - So he turned on Lexington and back on Oak. The dog at the corner of Oak and Jefferson was waiting for him once again and came out snarling and growling, snapping at his heels. But Mr. Chambers pretended not to notice and the beast gave up the chase. | | A radio blared down the street and faint phrases floated to Mr. Chambers. vs» still taking place . . . Empire State building disappeared . . . thin air... famed scientist, Dr. Edmund Harcourt . . .” The wind whipped the muted words away and Mr. Chambers grumbled to himself. Another one of those fantastic radio dramas, probably. He re- membered one from many years before, something about the Martians. And Harcourt! What did Harcourt have to do with it? He was one of the men who had ridiculed the book Mr. Chambers had written. But he pushed speculation away, sniffed the clean, crisp air again, looked . at the familiar things that materialized out of the late autumn darkness as he walked along. For there was nothing, absolutely nothing in the world, that he would let upset him. That was a tenet he had laid down twenty years ago. . 3 _ There was.a crowd of men talking excitedly in front of the drugstore at the corner of Oak and Lincoln. Mr. Chambers caught sentences: “It’s happening everywhere ... What do you think it is ... The scientists fant explain. , .” 3 But as Mr Chambers neared them they fell into what seemed an abashed silence and watched him pass. He, on his part, gave them no sign of recog- nition. That was the way it had been for many years, ever since the people had become convinced that he did not wish to talk. One of the men half started forward as if to speak to him, but then stepped back and Mr. Chambers continued on his walk. Back at his own front door he stopped and, as he had done a thousand times before, drew forth the heavy gold watch from his pocket. _ He started violently. It was only seven-thirty! For long minutes he stood there staring at the watch in accusation. 117 NOVO KS,,(EO)