The Black Mask — page 90: what you’re looking at

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

¢ 1, “On, on, on they went. Then, sud- denly, the passageway widened out into a huge cavern. Relying on the dark- ness, I crept closer until I was only a few yards away from them. Hiding behind a huge pile of boxes and barrels heaped up at.one side, I listened to their conversation. At first I was un- able to understand what they were about to do. Then, with a muttered ‘Shhhr one of them cautiously drew aside a small block of what appeared to be solid rock, and, peeping out over my hiding-place, I gazed through the little opening into a brilliantly-lighted passageway. I caught a glimpse of uniforms; through the opening came scraps of conversation in French, “The truth flashed over me. I was looking into the underground defenses of Verdun. The Germans had tun- neled up to them and were waiting only for the minute that the defenders were the fewest, to break down the thin bar- rier which held them back and throw their hordes into the very vitals of the French defense. Even as the thought came to me, the watcher closed the opening softly and, with a muttered word to his companion, lighted a lantern and waved it across his body like a signal torch, And a signal it was. For instantly a distant whistle sounded. Then lights leaped up as far as the eye could see, And from the distance came the tramp, tramp, tramp of marching feet. “I forgot that I was dealing with phantoms. The thing was too horribly real. I searched about me for a weapon for some way to warn the unsuspecting men on the other side of that frail par- tition. In the semi-darkness to which I was rapidly growing accustomed my eyes fell upon an open box. It was heaped up with hand grenades. I made out the markings of other boxes. I almost shouted for joy, For the pile was a huge ammunition dump, placed The Valley Where Dead Men Live there by the invaders in readiness for the crucial moment, “Seizing a grenade in either hand, I pulled the pins with my teeth and held them in readiness. Closer and closer came the German hordes. The whole cavern and passageway was filled with them. There were thousands, it seemed. The air was thick and heavy with the odor of their sweat. Then, just as the head of the column reached me, I hurled the bombs—not at the advancing en- emy, but straight into the big pile of ammunition, The leaders heard me, saw me, They came at me with a rush, “The ground trembled. . . . A con- cussion | I felt myself being hurled through the air, . . . Around me rang screams and cries of mortal agony. . . . [hen came oblivion. “There is nothing more that I can tell you. How I came here, I have no recollection. Evidently, my mind a blank, I found some exit on this side of the valley. I only know that you found me here, outside. My secret is yours. As a man of science, you will probably try to find the way into the place from which I have come. Take my advice and stay away. Now I am tired, Pro- fessor. I must rest.” : Vv (Extract from the report of Pro- fessor Phineas Parmalee, AB., LL.D., etc.) od ‘Mr. Blake passed away shortly after com- pleting his strange narrative. The members of the Parmalee Scientific Expedition spent nearly a week searching the vicinity in the hope of discovering the opening through which he came from the valley. But our efforts were: fruitless. I would be ‘tempted to put his story of ‘The Valley Where Dead Men Live’ down as an hallucination resulting from his terrible experiences during the war, but for one thing; I sent a courier by way of Chicahoochie Pass to interview Jamison. The latter says that the date given by Blake was gorrect, He crossed the mountains, as he stated, in five days. I confess myself puzzled ... We buried poor Blake where we found him. Requiescat In Pace!” - . i aa - ‘ : ~ +. ooks.com —— « ‘\