The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1916-04-13

changing face more hideous than be-
fore
BE at peace" he said. 1T is not.
contagious. You can find your way
out? l bid you good evening. sir"
Now 1 wonder" unused Average
Jones, as he jolted on the rear plat
form of an Eighth avenue car, by
what lead l could have landed that
job. rather think I've missed some
thing"
All that night. ana recurrently on
many nights thereafter. the poisoned
and contorted face and the scrawled
MERCY" on the cabinet lurked trou-
blously in his mind A few days later
he made his way TO the Cosmic club
one afternoon. There, as he had fore
seen, he found Robert Bertram.
Can l detach you from your usual
bridge game this evening? he de-
manded of that languid gentleman.
Very possibly. What's the induce
ment?"
Chapter Second of the Bellair street
chapter You've been the god-outside-
the-machine so far. Now, come on in"
Together they went TO the Green
witch village house. The name Smith"
had disappeared from the vestibule.
The landlord turned out to be a
German landlady. who knew little con-
corning her late groIld-hcor tenant
and evinced no interest in the sub
ject. The "perfessor," as she termed
.r,nfN D l,aI Ice L
Marion in the other ground-hoor fat
had tried to be acqus inted with him.
Not much luck, she thought.
Mrs. Marion was voluble ignorant,
and a willing source of information
The perfessor? Sure! l knew'm.
Twas me given the name. He was
Mejum. A big one; one of tie kind
it comes to, nacheral. Spirit-rappin's
Sometnin' fierce! My kitchen window
is on the airshaft. Sos his. Many's
the inc in the still evenin's I've
heard the rap-rap-rappin on his win
dow an on the wall but mostly on the
window Blip out of the dark. It'd
make you just hop And him sittin'
quiet and peaceful in the front room
all the time. Yep; my little girl seen
him there while l was hearin' the
raps."
Did you ask him about them?" in.
CURED Jones.
Sure! He wouldn't have it at first
Then he kinder smiled and half
owned up. And once seen him with
his materializin wand, sittin' in the
room almost dark"
His what?"
'Materializin wand. Spirit-rod. you
know. AS tall as himself and all shiny
and slick. 1t was slim ant sort o
| knobby like this wood-what's the
name OF it, now?-they make fish
| poles out of. Only the real big bugs
in spiritualism use em. They're dan
gerous. You wouldn't catch me touch
in it or goin' in there even now.
says TO Mrs. Kraus, ! says"
And so the stream of high-pitched
eager talk flowed until the two mer
escaped from it into the vacant apart
ment. Going to the kitchen through
doors on a straight line with the front
room, Average Jones inspected the
window. The glass was thickly marked
with faint, blush blurs, being indeed
almost opaque from them in the mid
die of the upper pane. Below the
window was a considerable amount Of
crumbled putty, which he fingered
with puzzled curiosity.
In the frOgt room mass of paper:
had been Ealf burned. Some of then
we're local journals, mostly the Eve
ming Register A few were publica
tions in the Arabic text
Oriental newspapers" remarked
BertTam.
Average Jones picked them up and
began TO fold them. From between
two sheets huttered a very small bill
of paper, narrow and half curled, as
if from the drying of mucilage He
| lifted and read it.
Here we are again. Bert" he re
marked in his most casual tone The
quality OF this Mercy is strained al
| right"
The two meG bent over the slip
/ studying Il. The word was, as Aver
/ age Jones had said. in a strained, eff
fortful handwriting, and each letter
stood distinct These were the char
/ aCters: