Avon Murder Mystery Monthly No. 41 — page 189: what you’re looking at

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

A, MERRITT 191 ‘There was a splitting roar that arose above all the clamor, deafening us even in the shelter of the silent veils. On each side of the crater whole masses of the City dropped away. Fleetingly I was aware of scores of smaller pits in which uprose lesser replicas of the Coned Mount, lesser reservoirs of the Monster’s force. Neither the Emperor nor the Keeper moved, both seemingly indif- ferent to the catastrophe fast developing around them. Now I strained forward to the very thinnest edge of the curtainings. For between the Disk and-Cross began to form fine black mist. It was transparent. It seemed spun of minute translucent ebon corpuscles. It hung like a black shroud suspended by unseen hands. It shook and wavered now toward the Disk, now toward the Cross. I sensed a keying up of force within the two; knew that each was striving to cast like a net that hanging mist upon the other. Abruptly the Emperor flashed forth, blindingly. As though caught upon a blast, the black shroud flew toward the Keeper—enveloped it. And as the mist covered and clung I saw the sulphurous and crimson flares dim. They were snuffed out. The Keeper fell! Upon Norhala’s face flamed a wild triumph, banishing despair. The outstretched planes of the Cross swept up as though in torment. For an instant its fires flared and licked through the clinging blackness; it writhed half upright, threw itself forward, crashed down prostrate upon the enigmatic tablet which only its tentacles could manipulate. From Norhala’s face the triumph fled. On its heels rushed stark, in credulous horror. | | The Mount of Cones shuddered, From it came a single mighty throb of force—like a prodigious heart-beat. Under that pulse of power the Emperor staggered, spun—and spinning, swept Norhala from her feet, swung her close to its flashing rose. A second throb pulsed from the cones, and mightier. A spasm shook the Disk—a paroxysm. Its fires faded; they flared out again, bathing the floating, unearthly figure of Norhala with their iridescences. I saw her body writhe—as though it shared the agony of the Shape that held her. Her head twisted; the: great eyes, pools of uncompre- hending, unbelieving horror, stared into mine. With a spasmodic, infinitely dreadful movement the Disk closed— And closed upon. her! Norhala was gone—was shut within it. Crushed to the pent fires of its crystal heart. | I heard a sobbing, agonized choking—knew it was I who sobbed. GOGO .S (GO)