DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Fantasy Fan, v. 2, issue 6, whole no. 18, February 1935

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Fantasy Fan, v. 2, issue 6, whole no. 18, February 1935

Page 85

February, 1935, THE FANTASY FAN     85

The Slanting Shadow

by August W. Derleth

Mr. Abner Follansbee, investigator for the Society for Psychic Research, stopped his car to peer out into the Wisconsin woods. To his companion he said, "This is apparently the place, Fred. There's a sign off to tone side. Pretty well shot. 'Kroll's Inn'. Let's see that young lady's letter again."
Fred Tenny took a letter from his inner coat pocket and thrust it toward Follansbee, who opened it and regarded the scrawled writing dubiously.
"Probably just another wild goose chase," he said presently. "Looks to me more like a matter for the police. The girl's guardian, Uriah Kroll, disappeared over a year ago--and since then his room has been very strange. That's all it amounts to. I suppose the young lady thinks she's got a ghost on her hands."
The younger man smiled. "Something about a shadow, isn't there?"
"Yes. 'There's a queer shadow on the bed in his room when the moon shines,' she writes. 'I can't understand it. It shouldn't be there.' That's all."
"Very lucid," commented Tenny laconically.
The inn itself was a quiet little house of stone, hugging the ground int he middle of a clearing not far from the heavily wooded roadside. A flagstone walk led up to a low stone porch, where the key to the front door lay under the mat, just where Miss Harriet Sears had said it would be in her letter to Follansbee.
As he bent to unlock the door, Folansbee said, "At least we can thank goodness we're alone. Miss Sears isn't likely to come bursting in on us at all hours of the night--she vowed she'd never set food inside the building until we'd settled that shadow business."
He threw the door open on a short hallway lending directly into a low, raftered sitting-room, into which Folansbee immediately strode, followed by his companion. The room was comfortably and well furnished with antique pieces. The chairs were curiously carved and obviously hand-made. Follansbee, however, wasted no time in the sitting-room, but led the way into another, smaller room, and around into a large bedroom in the southeast corner of the building.
This was the room which had been occupied by Uriah Kroll, prior to his disappearance, as described in Miss Sears' letter. It was a large, oddly furnished room, with a bed against the south wall, and a single chair next to it, the north wall of the room aext the door being occupied by what appeared to be work-bench. Follansbee, having looked cursorily at the bed, went over to the bench and bent above it.
Tenny came over and stood at his side.
"What do you make of it?" Follansbee asked.
"Queer outfit," Tenny replied. "Looks as if he might have been blow-

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February, 1935, THE FANTASY FAN 85 The Slanting Shadow by August W. Derleth Mr. Abner Follansbee, investigator for the Society for Psychic Research, stopped his car to peer out into the Wisconsin woods. To his companion he said, "This is apparently the place, Fred. There's a sign off to tone side. Pretty well shot. 'Kroll's Inn'. Let's see that young lady's letter again." Fred Tenny took a letter from his inner coat pocket and thrust it toward Follansbee, who opened it and regarded the scrawled writing dubiously. "Probably just another wild goose chase," he said presently. "Looks to me more like a matter for the police. The girl's guardian, Uriah Kroll, disappeared over a year ago--and since then his room has been very strange. That's all it amounts to. I suppose the young lady thinks she's got a ghost on her hands." The younger man smiled. "Something about a shadow, isn't there?" "Yes. 'There's a queer shadow on the bed in his room when the moon shines,' she writes. 'I can't understand it. It shouldn't be there.' That's all." "Very lucid," commented Tenny laconically. The inn itself was a quiet little house of stone, hugging the ground int he middle of a clearing not far from the heavily wooded roadside. A flagstone walk led up to a low stone porch, where the key to the front door lay under the mat, just where Miss Harriet Sears had said it would be in her letter to Follansbee. As he bent to unlock the door, Folansbee said, "At least we can thank goodness we're alone. Miss Sears isn't likely to come bursting in on us at all hours of the night--she vowed she'd never set food inside the building until we'd settled that shadow business." He threw the door open on a short hallway lending directly into a low, raftered sitting-room, into which Folansbee immediately strode, followed by his companion. The room was comfortably and well furnished with antique pieces. The chairs were curiously carved and obviously hand-made. Follansbee, however, wasted no time in the sitting-room, but led the way into another, smaller room, and around into a large bedroom in the southeast corner of the building. This was the room which had been occupied by Uriah Kroll, prior to his disappearance, as described in Miss Sears' letter. It was a large, oddly furnished room, with a bed against the south wall, and a single chair next to it, the north wall of the room aext the door being occupied by what appeared to be work-bench. Follansbee, having looked cursorily at the bed, went over to the bench and bent above it. Tenny came over and stood at his side. "What do you make of it?" Follansbee asked. "Queer outfit," Tenny replied. "Looks as if he might have been blow-