Avon Fantasy Reader No. 13 — page 68: what you’re looking at

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

“AL year after she was married, Mary took sick and died. Jim Jenkens was awful put out about it. He didn’t act right from then on. He got to imag- _ ining things. He got suspicious of Joe. “ “What you got to. worry about?’ people would ask him. ‘Mary’s dead. There can’t no harm come to her now.’ “But Jim didn’t feel that way. Joe heard about it, and he got to teasing Jim. “‘T was out with Mary’s ghost last night, he would say. And Jim got to — believing him. One night, he lays low for Joe. and shoots him with both barrels. “He was goin’ to meet my. wife!’ Jim told the judge.” “Did they give him the chair?” I asked. “No, they gave him life in the state hospital.” Shadow remained impervious to Juggy’s yarns, which were told for his special benefit. During this time, I noticed something decidedly strange about. the boy, but I kept my own ame After all, a contractor can not keep the respect of his men if he appears too credulous. One day Juggy voiced my suspicions for me. “You know,” he said, 4 never saw that kid sweat. It’s uncanny. It’s ninety in the shade today, and Shadew ain't get a drop of perspiration on his face. Look at his shire. Dry as it he'd just put it on. Everyone in the crew noticed this. I think we all became uneasy in Shadow’s presence. One morning he didn’t show up for work. We waited a few minutes and left without him. When the trucks came in with their second load of gravel, the drivers told us that Shadow’s mother had died during the night. This news cast a gloom over the crew. We all sympathized with the youth. “T wish I hadn’t kidded him,” said Juggy. We all put in an appearance that evening at Shadow’s little cottage, and I think he was tremendously gratified. “I won’t be working no more,” he told me. “There ain’t no need for me now.” I couldn’t afford to lay off the crew for the funeral, but I did go myself. I even accompanied Shadow to the cemetery. . We watched while the grave was being filled. There were many others there, for one of the chief delights in a rural community is to see how the mourners “take on” at a funeral. Moreover, their interest in Karl Rand was deeper. He had said he was going back to his cave, that he would never again walk by day. The villagers, as well as myself, wanted to see what would happen. When the grave was filled, Shadow turned to me, oo me pathetically a moment, then walked from the grave. Silently, we watched him set out across the Geld. ‘Two mischievous boys disobeyed the entreaties of their parents, and set out after him. They returned to the village an hour later with a strange and incredible story. They had seen Karl disappear into the ground. The earth had literally swallowed him up. The youngsters were terribly frightened. It was thought that Karl had done ees to scare them, and their Serene had got the better of them. 66 " GOMmicboo LI * eaul oe oon of Kentucky * Blue Footprints in the Snow ° Blue M Grass Special. AAD @aneat 24 Bea B-2804 B..2513 | (E(0) mrygs ~ sraugnrer on tenth »~ WI Gew oc . Duke Ellington and his Orchacten> Calis: @ hin waste Avenue.