The old man eyed the hunter with a fiery gaze and began to curse him in fluent but somewhat archaic diction as he descended into the hollow. At the same time, a lizard-tailed and sooty-feathered bird, which seemed to belong to some night-flying species of archaeopteryx, began to snap its toothed beak and flap its digited wings on the objectionably shapen stela that served it for a perch. This stela, standing on the lee side of the fire and very close to it, had not been perceived by Ralibar Vooz at first glance.
"May the ordure of demons bemire you from heel to crown!" cried the venomous ancient. "O lumbering, bawling idiot! you have ruined a most promising and important evocation. How you came here I can not imagine. I have surrounded this place with twelve circles of illusion, whose effect is multiplied by their myriad intersections; and the chance that any intruder would ever find his way to my abode was mathematically small and insignificant. Ill was that chance which brought you here: for They that you have frightened away will not return until the high stars repeat a certain rare and quickly passing conjunction; and much wisdom is lost to me in the interim." . . .
The astounding adventures of Ralibar Vooz, which followed his affront to the old man, make a saga as unusual as it is interest-gripping. You can not afford to miss this strange tale, which will be published complete in Weird Tales for October:
THE SEVEN GEASES
By CLARK ASHTON SMITH
—ALSO—
THE BLACK GOD'S KISS OLD SLEDGE
By C. L. Moore By Paul Ernst
A gripping story of a warrior maid who went A strange piece of science-fiction—the story
down into a land of unthinkable evil in search of an eccentric inventor who foretold the future of a strange weapon. by means of a weird machine.
THE SLEEPER
By H. Bedford-Jones
Ranjit Singh, the East Indian necromancer and stage magician, was dead and buried, so they said—but what was that thing in the mummy-case?
THE PISTOL
By S. Gordon Gurwit A i so a thrilling installment of Robert E. How-
An appealing story of a love so strong that it ard's vivid novel, The People of the Black Circle. broke through the barriers of Death.
Oct. WEIRD TALES Out Oct. 1
/ 393
FROM time to time we are importuned by our readers to devote several pages of Weird Tales each month to a forum in which the lovers of fantastic fiction can exchange views. We are asked to have articles on weird fiction generally, information about our authors, debates between the fans. It has been suggested that we expand the Eyrie for this purpose, and make it a battleground for the conflicts of the weird fiction fans. This we have stedfastly refused to do, for Weird Tales, after all, is a magazine of fiction, and undue expansion of the Eyrie, or the opening of a new department to satisfy the fans, would take just that much space away from weird stories, which are our primary interest. So, instead of reducing our story space to make room for such a department, we suggest to those of you who are interested that you write to Charles D. Hornig, editor of The Fantasy Fan, whose home address is 137 West Grand Street, Elizabeth, New Jersey. We have been receiving The Fantasy Fan for several months, and we think it is just the forum you want—that is, those of you who make weird fiction your hobby. The Fantasy Fan does not appear on the news stands, but Mr. Hornig can supply you with detailed information about it.
Constant Reader Airs His Thoughts
Joseph T. Ryerson, of Muskegon Heights, Michigan, writes to the Eyrie: "Having been a constant reader of WT ever since its conception, I feel it's about time I aired my thoughts. I just read in the July issue the reprint from your first issue, The Dead Man's Tale, and feel that your present authors will have to keep on their toes in order to maintain the standard of that story. But for sheer pathos and beauty, One Christmas 394
Eve stands out above the rest. It was a very fortunate circumstance that Robert E. Howard did not have a hand in writing Through the Gates of the Silver Key, for it is a humdinger as it is. . . . No biographies of authors, please."
A New High Mark
B. M. Reynolds, of North Adams, Massachusetts, writes: "Congratulations on your July issue. It was a knockout and then some. I don't believe you have ever put out an issue containing so many stories of superb quality and high standard. You have certainly set a new high mark. Through the Gates of the Silver Key was a classic, and positively the best piece of work those incomparable artists Lovecraft and Price have ever done. Its cosmic scope and imaginative brilliance certainly give one plenty of food for thought. By all means give us a sequel to this story, and get Randolph Carter or one of his 'facets' back to earth again. Arlton Eadie takes second honors with his new mystery serial, The Trail of the Cloven Hoof. This is the best serial since Golden Blood and the best work I have ever seen by Eadie. If he can sustain the present high mark of eery mystery and nameless horror throughout the forthcoming chapters, he will have written a masterpiece. The Master of Souls by Harold Ward was also a very entertaining and unusual story, having a most bizarre and original theme. Ward's work has been steadily improving, and I am surprized he does not receive more comment."
Don't Enlarge the Eyrie
Edgar Hurd, of Crescent City, California, writes: "I have been reading Weird Tales for about four years and I think it has im-(Please turn to page 396)
Back Copies
Because of the many requests for back issues of Weird Tales, the publishers do their best to keep a sufficient supply on hand to meet all demands. This magazine was established in early 1923 and there has been a steady drain on the supply of back copies ever since. At present, we have the following back numbers on hand for sale:
1930
July
Dec.
These back numbers contain many fascinating stories. If you are interested in obtaining any of the back copies on this list please hurry your order because we can not guarantee that the list will be as complete as it now is within the next 30 days. The price on all back issues is 25c per copy. Mail all orders to:
WEIRD TALES
840 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago, Illinois
WEIRD TALES
(Continued from page 394)
proved constantly and is the best magazine of any type on the market. I like Brun-dage's covers, though I think some weird monsters in addition to the human figures would be good. Please don't enlarge the Eyrie until it crowds out a couple of short stories. The plan of making extracts of the important parts of the letters is best. And I hope the majority of the readers vote against an author's page. In the July issue, Through the Gates of the Silver Key was my first choice. It was marvelous. It filled my head with mighty thoughts and great yearnings. I give The Illusion of Flame by Paul Ernst second place. . . . Your newest author, C. L. Moore, is excellent, I am eagerly waiting for his story, Dust of Gods. My favorite story characters are Conan and Northwest Smith. The bloody adventures of Conan are very interesting, and C. L. Moore has such unusual and original conceptions that reading his stories is a pleasure. I am fed up with stories of animated corpses and vampires. ... I like the fantastic and imaginative story better than the scary one. Espe--eiall? do I like stories about undeveloped -and unknown powers of the mind."
About Our Authors
Robert Bloch, of Milwaukee, writes: "In heaven's name, publish that author's page! WT has a very interesting staff of authors, indeed. No one could claim a more interesting career than Price, soldier of fortune, etc.; Howard, a typical barbarian like his own Conan; Lovecraft, the recluse; Derleth, the descendant of a count who fled the French revolution; Quinn and his interesting job. Yet the bulk of your readers know nothing of these fascinating facts. Loosen up with them!"
Arltoa Eadie's Stories
Emil Petaja, .of Milltown, Montana, writes: "Although I have just had time to glance over the July issue of Weird Tales, the stories appear to be unusually excellent. I am glad to see a novel by Arlton Eadie. It seems to me that his stories have never been fully appreciated by your reader
s. One of his tales, The Avenging Shadow, which appeared in 1931, was never mentioned in the Eyrie, but it struck me as being one of the best tales you have ever published. . . .
I want to say a word regarding suggestions made of late with reference to a quarterly or mid-monthly magazine, to be devoted to longer stories, reprints, etc. I consider this a splendid idea. You could publish in it long serial reprints, both from back issues of Weird Tales and stories such as The Wolf-Leader by Dumas, which appeared serially as a reprint in WT. This could appear quarterly and be twice as large as WT, and sell for fifty cents. In this, you could give information on old, forbidden magic, true weird tales, and old writers like Cagliostro, Roger Bacon, etc. With regard to a page giving information about your authors, I agree with you, by ali means don't have one. In many cases these would detract from the author's popularity. I can see no reason for kicking about your covers. Individually, each is a work of art, and the weird atmosphere is uppermost in each."
More Vampire Stories
Miss Andre Cross, of Hollywood, California, writes: "For three years I have been a faithful reader of Weird Tales and I have never found anything to make a comment about. I was never very interested in writing fan letters, but it seems I must write to you and say how much I enjoy every word of your magazine. It is simply supreme. Your cover designs are extremely attractive, and if they are not actually done by a woman, they have the fine, delicate touch of a woman. ... I think you should have more stories of vampires and stories such as The Return of Balkis, The Sapphire Goddess, and Revelations in Black. Give us more of the charming fascinating character Monsieur Jules de Grandin, the gallant Frenchman, and his adventures."
By Air Mail
Fred Anger, of Berkeley, California, writes: "Weird Tales is certainly improving steadily. Every new copy gets better and better; evidently there is no end to your progress. The first installment of The Trail of the Cloven Hoof is as good a piece of weird fiction as it is possible to find. Mr. Eadie has given us nothing but the best in all the years he has been writing. The Trail of the Cloven Hoof equals if not excels The World-Wrecker of several years ago. Congratulations, Mr. Eadie. Through the Gates
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Weird Tales volume 24 number 03 Page 17