Avon Fantasy Reader No. 14 — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

ES a ee Ae ee ee ea aes OT te ae Leet Sadak . ; Sh ee Re Hare ah PRGA RR ge a ei I ap) EO ey em | Temptress of the Tower of Torture and Sin The lure of lost lands, the finding of new worlds to con- quer, is one of the factors inherent in the movement of progress. And the fact that we have. apparently ex- hausted the possibilities of geographical discoveries Co- lumbuswise probably plays a part in the fascination such stories as Turzan’s adventures in “Darkest Africa” hold. It was inevitable that Robert E. Howurd, for whom the past held a deep romantic grip, would try his hand at dreaming up a lost city of the ancients still awaiting its modern discoverer. This fascinating story appeared in the first issue of the short-lived companion magazine to Weird Tales called Oriental Stories. As such it is probably unknown to most avid fans them- selves, and will come to over ninety-nine per cent of the readers as a brand new Robert E. Howard fantasy ad- venture. ASKAT, like many another port, is a haven for the drift- ers of many nations who bring their tribal customs and peculiarities with them. Turk rubs shoulders with Greek and Arab squabbles with Hindoo. The tongues of half the Orient resound in the loud smelly bazaar. Therefore it did not seem particularly incongruous to hear, as I leaned on a bar tended by a smirking Eurasian, the musical notes of a Chinese gong sound clearly through the lazy hum of native traffic. There was certainly nothing so startling in those mellow tones that the big Englishman next to me should start and swear and spill his whiskey-and-soda on my sleeve. He apologized and berated his clumsiness with honest profanity, but I saw he was shaken. He interested me as his type always does—a fine upstanding fellow he was, over six feet tall, broad-shouldered, narrow-hipped, heavy- limbed, the perfect fighting man, brown-faced, blue-eyed and tawny-haired. His breed is old as Europe, and the man himself brought to mind vague leg- endary characters—Hengist, Hereward, Cedric—born rovers and fighters of the original barbarian stock. I saw, furthermore, that he was in a mood to talk. I introduced myself, ordered drinks and waited. My specimen thanked me, muttered to himself, quaffed his liquor hastily and spoke abruptly: “You're wondering why a grown man should be so suddenly upset by such comilicloooks.com