Avon Murder Mystery Monthly No. 41 — page 147: what you’re looking at

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

A, MERRITT 149 spurted thin cascades of cubes. They swarmed up into tall pillars that shook and swayed and gyrated. } With blinding flash upon flash the sapphire incandescences struck forth at their feet. A score of Haming columned shapes leaped up and curved in meteor flight over the tumultuous curtain. Streaming with violet fires they shot back to the valley of the City.. “Hai!” shouted Norhala as they flew. “Hai!” Up darted her arms; the starry galaxies of her eyes danced madly, shot forth visible rays. The mighty curtain of the Metal Things pulsed and throbbed; its units interweaving—block and globe and, pyramid of which it was woven, each seeming to. strain at leash. “Come!” cried Norhala—and led the way through the portal. Close behind her we pressed. I stumbled, nearly fell, over a brown- faced, leather-cuirassed body that lay half over, legs barring the threshold. | Contemptuously Norhala stepped over it. We were within that cham- ber of the pool. About it lay a fair dozen of the armored men. Ruth’s defense, I thought with a grim delight, had been most excellent—those - had taken her and Ventnor had not done so without paying full toll. | A-violet flashing drew my eyes away. Close to thé pool wherein we had first seen the white miracle of Norhala’s body, two immense, pur- ple fired stars blazed. Between them, like a suppliant cast from black iron, was Yuruk. — | | Poised upon their nether tips the stars guarded him. Head touching his knees, eyes hidden within his folded arms, the ‘black éunuch crouched. “Yuruk!” There was an unearthly mercilessness in Norhala’s voice. The eunuch raised his head; slowly, fearfully. “Goddess!” he whispered. “Goddess | Mercy!” “I saved him,” she turned to us,,“for you to slay. He it was who brought those who took the maid who was mine and the helpless one she loved. Slay him.” | a | Drake understood—his hand twitched down to his pistol, drew it. He. leveled: the gun at the black eunuch. Yuruk saw it—shrieked and cow- ered. Norhala laughed—sweetly, ruthlessly. _. 2 “Ee dies before the stroke falls,” she said. “He dies doubly therefore— and that is well.” | Drake slowly lowered the automatic; turned to me. “T can’t,” he said. “I can’t—do it—” “Masters!” Upon his knees the eunuch writhed toward us. “Masters— I meant no wrong: What I did was for love of the Goddess. Years upon ECOMC OOO (GO)