Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1913-10-29
CHAPTER Viii Continued. /

And you saw 81 Il s55:
b I'M. es, II saw! him as plainly
8as i did that gh. on the lawn when zen
HE: fell from space. only now he was
/ hundred times more hideous. And md
he was making mouths at me or try.
ing To say some thing or-Oh, q i don! don't
know what he meant, but anyway s. z
Jumped out of bed and ran TO fathers
81 room. He came back Instantly with
a the gun he has just bought, but there
was 10 thing in light then. Why is
lie haunting me {? S that can 1t be?
The first night on the lawn he seemed
to single me out from every body else.
: and now again In the midst of all
these horrible things he Is doing he
comes to my window at midnig ht.4Kl
am fri htened, dread fully frightened
and do not want to be alone a moment
III had to call up some protector to be
with me this afternoon, SO ] rang you.
Can you imagine what the creature
means ~ a cold, prickly chill had en-.
veloped March, nameless fear at the
thought Of the monsters apparently
strange fascination for the sweet
woman at his side, but while his voice
Z was more or less serious as he ans.
severed her he tried to present the,
matter In as light a form as possible.
s5s8s'.I am inclined to thinks like this
Y It'll is probable that your trinket with
Its peculiar likeness to a leaf with
which he was familiar in his own
world and which may have some sym
bolic meaning among his people, first
attracted his attention and curiosity
& to you. And SO having noticed you,
March had to start his love making at
the first opportunity and your sweet;
ness and prettiness- She checked
him. ~
4 GAS If "a monstrosity like him could
appreciate what we are pleased to call
srpIrettiness among ourselves, even as
Stunning that any Of us possess It. Why,
we, must look as grotesque to him lin ' az .
he does to us, with our wtngless bod tl
les, earth bound forms, clumsy king
limbs, queer tapping garments and l
snail-like gait x 4 n n
Very well. We will assume then
that you, personally, were secondary
consideration a4d that he was merely
fascinated by the trinket. That should
relieve your mind, and nothing is& sim M
pier than to leave him the ornament
outside as peace offering. Also, you
must remember this house is the place
where he received his first introduc-
{ ton to human beings, and last night
iii his prowlings he probably CHANGED
this way and stopped for q moment {. ne l11t
merely out of curiosity. Il IA
q ..But why come to my window 2"
n Prob ably through coincidence pure
I and simple. Perhaps he merely wished
stossee what was inside. He sees like
bat in the dark, you know.
II She removed her hands from her
4 face and once more sat composedly.
@.Of course 1t may be that what you
have said Is true, since all any OF US
n can do is guess. However, think,
differently. think it was desire
for revenge that brought him here, for
4 that he is malevolent and revengeful
there can be no doubt. And it was
here, remember, that he was first at
tackled, attacked before he had offered
\ violence to us. You know Clay start
led 1t by shooting him, and Clay was
here for several days afterward while
he was getting well. 1t is possible
4 that the creature knew that to be SO,
does not know that Clay has left and
came here looking for him. And then
again perhaps he was after me once
more. Oh, l don't know, but ! am
terribly worried ..ts5st5
'tDoris!" he cried almost fercely.
Fathers are all right enough as far
i as they go, but what you need above
\ all other things is one who can be at
your side in the darkness as well as
I the light, someone who can guard you.
protect you and comfort you in times
of distress like this as no father can"
(which suppose means that need
q husband" she broke in quietly.
''tSYo GU have guessed marvelously."
s. saAnd therefore that the husband
should by rights be you"
"Unquestionably." s,
A faint smile rippled across her face.
1 Every well, sir. 1 will file this appli-
cation among the others, and little
later if / find I have need of such an