Cassius

"Cassius" is a horror short story by Henry S. Whitehead based on one of the entries of H. P. Lovecraft's commonplace book. It was published in the November 1931 issue of Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror.
This story is part of the Gerald Canevin series (which also includes the Lovecraft collaboration "The Trap"), and features the return of two other characters, namely Dr. Pelletier and Arthur Carswell, both introduced in "Passing of a God". It also marks the debut appearance of Canevin's dependable house-man, Stephen Penn, who would go on to appear in several more entries in the series, as well as the minor characters of Colonel Lorriquer, his family, and Mrs. Squire, all of whom would return in "Mrs. Lorriquer".
==Synopsis==
Gerald Canevin is a writer of supernatural stories living in St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands. His house-man Stephen Penn, who presides over the staff, convinces Canevin to hire Penn's friend, Brutus Hellman, who has recently lost his job. Canevin is pleased by Hellman's work, so when Hellman reveals that he needs surgery to remove some kind of tumor, Canevin contacts his friend, Dr. Pelletier. The doctor performs what he describes as a very simple operation and Hellman's growth is removed.
While Hellman is recovering, Canevin finds an object that looks like a miniature hut in the yard outside the man's cabin. Assuming that the thing must be a toy that belongs to the young son of his washer, Canevin playfully places a coin inside it to surprise the kid. At this moment, his finger is bitten by some small creature. Canevin makes a mental note to ask Penn to remove the animal from the toy, so it wouldn't hurt the child, but afterwards forgets about the incident.
Canevin and his friend Carswell hear a scream coming from Hellman's cabin. Once inside, they find a terrified Hellman with an open wound on his leg. While Canevin bandages him, Hellman asks about the "thing" that bit him. Canevin and Carswell catch sight of a strange creature, about the size of a rat or mongoose, scurrying away from under the bed towards the yard. Although they can't find the thing, Canevin comes across the body of a rat that has been viciously torn apart, and Hellman himself notices that the bite mark on his own leg is similar to that on the rat's throat, suggesting that the thing that bit him also killed the rat.
On the next day, Hellman is targeted again when the creature tries to enter his room by the window. He fires a shot and hits it, as indicated by a blood stain, but the thing manages to escape. Hellman describes the creature as small and frog-like. Canevin finds a liana tied with loop knots, which the thing used to climb to the window -- a testimony to its intelligence. He sends a sample of the animal's blood to be analysed in the lab, but the analysis shows that the blood belongs to a human being.
On the next night, Hellman is attacked twice, first showing up with wounds on his left cheek, which has been perforated by a miniature spear, then with a deep gash on his chest made with his own pocket knife. Penn volunteers to spend the night in Hellman's cabin. Meanwhile, Canevin has a strange suspicion and sends a blood sample of Hellman to be compared with that of the creature. The analysis concludes that the two samples came from the same person.
Dr. Pelletier reveals to Canevin that the tumorous growth he removed from Hellman was, in fact, a parasitic rat-sized conjoined twin, which has mysteriously disappeared from the laboratory, leading the two men to conclude that the twin was alive and trying to get revenge on his fully-developed brother. It transpires that Hellman's conjoined twin, named Cassius Hellman at birth, has been living inside the miniature hut on the yard. As Canevin and Pelletier try to capture him with a net, Cassius leaves the hut, terrifying the washer's son in the process. Before the two men can capture him, the homunculus is ambushed and slain by the washer's cat, Junius. Since the Hellman twins have been baptised at birth, Canevin gives the rat-sized man a Christian burial.
Category:Lovecraft Circle Works
Category:Henry S. Whitehead works