The Project Gutenberg EBook of Doom of the House of Duryea, by Earl Peirce

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Title: Doom of the House of Duryea

Author: Earl Peirce

Release Date: June 6, 2010 [EBook #32710]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Doom of the House of Duryea

By EARL PEIRCE, JR.

[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Weird Tales October
1936. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.]

[Sidenote: _A powerful story of stark horror, and the dreadful thing
that happened in a lone house in the Maine woods._]

Arthur Duryea, a young, handsome man, came to meet his father for the
first time in twenty years. As he strode into the hotel lobby--long
strides which had the spring of elastic in them--idle eyes lifted to
appraise him, for he was an impressive figure, somehow grim with
exaltation.

The desk clerk looked up with his habitual smile of expectation;
how-do-you-do-Mr.-so-and-so, and his fingers strayed to the green
fountain pen which stood in a holder on the desk.

Arthur Duryea cleared his throat, but still his voice was clogged and
unsteady. To the clerk he said:

"I'm looking for my father, Doctor Henry Duryea. I understand he is
registered here. He has recently arrived from Paris."

The clerk lowered his glance to a list of names. "Doctor Duryea is in
suite 600, sixth floor." He looked up, his eyebrows arched
questioningly. "Are you staying too, sir, Mr. Duryea?"

Arthur took the pen and scribbled his name rapidly. Without a further
word, neglecting even to get his key and own room number, he turned and
walked to the elevators. Not until he reached his father's suite on the
sixth floor did he make an audible noise, and this was a mere sigh which
fell from his lips like a prayer.

The man who opened the door was unusually tall, his slender frame
clothed in tight-fitting black. He hardly dared to smile. His
clean-shaven face was pale, an almost livid whiteness against the
sparkle