At this point the thought-waves abruptly ceased, and the pale eyes of the dreamer--or can I say dead man?--commenced to glaze fishily. In a half-stupor I crossed over to the couch and felt of his wrist, but found it cold, stiff, and pulseless. The sallow cheeks paled again, and the thick lips fell open, disclosing the repulsively rotten fangs of the degenerate Joe Slater. I shivered, pulled a blanket over the hideous face, and awakened the nurse. Then I left the cell and went silently to my room. I had an instant and unaccountable craving for a sleep whose dreams I should not remember. The climax? What plain tale of science can boast of such a rhetorical effect? I have merely set down certain things appealing to me as facts, allowing you to construe them as you will. As I have already admitted, my superior, old Dr. Fenton, denies the reality of everything I have related. He vows that I was broken down with nervous strain, and badly in need of the long vacation on full pay which he so generously gave me. He assures me on his professional honour that Joe Slater was but a low-grade paranoic, whose fantastic notions must have come from the crude hereditary folk-tales which circulate in even the most decadent of communities. All this he tells me--yet I cannot forget what I saw in the sky on the night after Slater died. Lest you think me a biased witness, another pen must add this final testimony, which may perhaps supply the climax you expect. I will quote the following account of the star _Nova Persei_ verbatim from the pages of that eminent astronomical authority, Prof. Garrett P. Serviss: "On February 22, 1901, a marvelous new star was discovered by Dr. Anderson of Edinburgh, _not very far from Algol_. No star had been visible at that point before. Within 24 hours the stranger had become so bright that it outshone Capella. In a week or two it had visibly faded, and in the course of a few months it was hardly discernible with the naked eye." * * * * * ADVERTISEMENTS Rates: one cent per word Minimum Charge, 25 cents * * * * * Back Numbers of _The Fantasy Fan_: September, out of print. October, November, December, 1933, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, 1934, 10 cents each. * * * * * CLARK ASHTON SMITH presents THE DOUBLE SHADOW AND OTHER FANTASIES--a booklet containing a half-dozen imaginative and atmospheric tales--stories of exotic beauty, horror, terror, strangeness, irony and satire. Price: 25 cents each (coin or stamps). Also a small remainder of EBONY AND CRYSTAL--a book of prose-poems published at $2.00, reduced to $1.00 per copy. Everything sent postpaid. Clark Ashton Smith, Auburn, California. * * * * *