Page:Weird Tales Volume 27 Issue 01 (1936-01).djvu/36

34 Susan Fraser's eyes widened suddenly, and she shrank fearfully back against the door, one hand clutching at her breast. Abruptly she saw what her husband had not seen. Putting both hands before her face, she called out in a terrible voice, "Juliet! Juliet!" Then, with a long wailing sigh, she fell forward.

The doctor sprang away from the bed and caught her in his arms, lowering her gently to the floor. In a moment he looked up; his face was white. Alice stepped quickly forward to be at her father's side. Twice the doctor started to say something, but each time the words failed to come.

"Dead?" asked Alice in a whisper.

The doctor nodded. "It was her heart," he said.

Alice clenched her hands. "It was the mask!" she said. "But it shall not have Monica!"

Then abruptly from the bed where Monica lay, there was a movement. Even as the stricken trio turned, Monica's voice came very faintly.

"Water," she murmured. "Water!"

T WAS noon. The enormous National State Building hummed like a beehive with the activity of its tenants. Every office spewed forth men and women on their way to lunch. The express elevators dropped like plummets from the seventy-ninth floor, while the locals handled the crowds from the fortieth floor down.

At the top floor an express elevator tarried beyond its usual schedule. The operator paid no attention to the red flash from the starter downstairs signaling the Up cages to start down as soon as possible. He acted as though he was beyond schedules, as indeed he was.

This elevator, though hot entirely private, was at the disposal of Martial Varley, owner of the building, whose offices took up the top floor. Others could ride in it, but they did so with the understanding that at morning, noon and evening the elevator waited to carry Varley, whose appearances at his office occurred with time-clock regularity. Hence, if the cage waited inactively those in it knew why and did not exhibit signs of impatience.

There were half a dozen people in the elevator that paused for Varley to ride down. There was an elderly woman, Varley's office manager and two secretaries; and there were two big business