,
"new things of my tools. See!" The clutching bones dropped the rattling
Scythe, and the handle broke as it fell, and rotted before their eyes.
"Heh, heh," the Thing cackled as it watched. "Heh--what Death touches,
rots as he leaves it." The grinning, blackened skull grinned wider, in
an awful, leering cavity, rotting, twisted teeth showed. But from under
his flapping robe, the skeletal hands drew something--ray pistols!

"These--these are swifter!" The Thing turned, and with a single leering
glance behind, flowed once more through the wall.

A gasp, a stifled, groaning gasp ran through the hall, a half sob.

But far, far away they could hear something clanking, dragging its slow
way along. Spellbound they turned to the farthest corner--and looked
down the long, long road that twined off in distance. A lone, luminous
figure plodded slowly along it, his half human shamble bringing him
rapidly nearer.

Larger and larger he loomed, clearer and clearer became the figure, and
his burden. Broken, twisted steel, or metal of some sort, twisted and
blackened.

"It's over--it's over--and my toys are here. I win, I always win. For I
am the spawn of Mars, of War, and of Hate, the sister of War, and my
toys are the things they leave behind." It gesticulated, waving the
twisted stuff and now through the haze, they could see them--buildings.
The framework of buildings and twisted liners, broken weapons.

It loomed nearer, the cavernous, glowing eyes under low, shaggy brows,
became clear, the awful brutal hate, the lust of Death, the rotting
flesh of Disease--all seemed stamped on the Horror that approached.

"Ah!" It had seen them! "Ahh!" It dropped the buildings, the broken
things, and shuffled into a run, toward them! Its face changed, the lips
drew back from broken, stained teeth, the curling, cruel lips, and the
rotting flesh of the face wrinkled into a grin of lust and hatred. The
shaggy mop of its hair seemed to writhe and twist, the long, thin
fingers grasped spasmodically as it neared. The torn, broken fingernails
were visible--nearer--nearer--nearer--

"Oh, God--stop it!" A voice shrieked out of the dark as someone leaped
suddenly to his feet.

Simultaneously with the cry the Thing puffed into nothingness of energy
from which it had sprung, and a great ball of clear, white glowing light
came into being in the center of the room, flooding it with a light that
dazzled the eyes, but calmed broken nerves.

Chap