DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Amateur Correspondent, v. 2, issue 2, September-October 1937

Transcribe
Translate

Amateur Correspondent, v. 2, issue 2, September-October 1937

Page 8

8 AMATEUR CORRESPONDENT

and other fittings of the tomb were divided and scattered over the world. From the sarcophagus we took the mummy, inside its case, and brought it back to New York.
"The journey and the change of atmosphere worked its effects on the mummy. At first the change was unnoticeable; but slowly a difference became apparent in the dried flesh. Gradually the body became flaccid, and the directors of the museum desperately strove to preserve it; but no means that they could find or invent would stem the relentless transformation. Finally, to save face, a plaster cast was made of the mummy, and with skillful workmanship its hue and appearance were carefully simulated. The imitation replaced the mummy in its case, and the true one was quietly buried. The museum officials and we three, the scoffing scientists, alone knew that ka, the identity, of the mummy was lost for all eternity. And the inscribed curse had said, ‘Whoever shall violate this tomb the gods will punish. On him who causes the loss of identity shall Set, the Evil 
[B/W illustration with three men reading an inscription over stone]
God, wreak vengeance.’"
A trace of resignation showed on Nevins' gaunt face as he lay there, hoarding his waning energy to bring his macabre story to a finish. A muffled creak, as his son shifted his weight in his chair; stillness fell on the darkened room again.
A flush mounted on his features, dimly outlined against the pillow, and his breath quickened.
"Even then we thought the curse a mere superstition, and while we never spoke of it among ourselves, we placed no credence in it. Carson was the first to go. He was with an expedition in the South American jungles. They were looking for traces of the old Mayan civilization. One day he was suddenly stricken. He lingered for days, wasting away. The press carried some stories gathered from natives, of a curse jungle. They explained the safety of others in the party by terming Carson's death a warning. The doctors, in press interviews, laid Carson's death to a little known type of fever. They didn't explain the safety of the rest of the expedition. Myerbach and I quietly searched out a member of the expedition on his return. He told us that Carson had just weakened and wasted away. No symptoms of a fever. Medicine seemed to do him no good. Finally he died, just skin and bones.
"Myerbach and I left with grave faces. We still didn't believe the curse, but doubt had worked its way into our minds. The last time I saw Myerbach, his forehead wore the perpetual frown of a man who has a constant worry at the back of his mind. It was the day I saw him aboard a boat

Saving...

8 AMATEUR CORRESPONDENT and other fittings of the tomb were divided and scattered over the world. From the sarcophagus we took the mummy, inside its case, and brought it back to New York. "The journey and the change of atmosphere worked its effects on the mummy. At first the change was unnoticeable; but slowly a difference became apparent in the dried flesh. Gradually the body became flaccid, and the directors of the museum desperately strove to preserve it; but no means that they could find or invent would stem the relentless transformation. Finally, to save face, a plaster cast was made of the mummy, and with skillful workmanship its hue and appearance were carefully simulated. The imitation replaced the mummy in its case, and the true one was quietly buried. The museum officials and we three, the scoffing scientists, alone knew that ka, the identity, of the mummy was lost for all eternity. And the inscribed curse had said, ‘Whoever shall violate this tomb the gods will punish. On him who causes the loss of identity shall Set, the Evil [B/W illustration with three men reading an inscription over stone] God, wreak vengeance.’" A trace of resignation showed on Nevins' gaunt face as he lay there, hoarding his waning energy to bring his macabre story to a finish. A muffled creak, as his son shifted his weight in his chair; stillness fell on the darkened room again. A flush mounted on his features, dimly outlined against the pillow, and his breath quickened. "Even then we thought the curse a mere superstition, and while we never spoke of it among ourselves, we placed no credence in it. Carson was the first to go. He was with an expedition in the South American jungles. They were looking for traces of the old Mayan civilization. One day he was suddenly stricken. He lingered for days, wasting away. The press carried some stories gathered from natives, of a curse jungle. They explained the safety of others in the party by terming Carson's death a warning. The doctors, in press interviews, laid Carson's death to a little known type of fever. They didn't explain the safety of the rest of the expedition. Myerbach and I quietly searched out a member of the expedition on his return. He told us that Carson had just weakened and wasted away. No symptoms of a fever. Medicine seemed to do him no good. Finally he died, just skin and bones. "Myerbach and I left with grave faces. We still didn't believe the curse, but doubt had worked its way into our minds. The last time I saw Myerbach, his forehead wore the perpetual frown of a man who has a constant worry at the back of his mind. It was the day I saw him aboard a boat