<\/p>\n\n
Fakat sa\u011fduyu onu durdurdu.<\/p>\n
“Karanl\u0131kta hi\u00e7 \u015fans\u0131m olmaz,” diye m\u0131r\u0131ldand\u0131. “Ve fenerin tekrar s\u00f6nece\u011fi gibi bir \u00f6nsezim var.”<\/p>\n
D\u00f6nd\u00fc ve do\u011fruca Griswell ile y\u00fcz y\u00fcze geldi.<\/p>\n
“Meseleyi ge\u00e7i\u015ftirmenin yarar\u0131 yok. Bu evde \u015feytani bir \u015fey var ve san\u0131r\u0131m bende de ne oldu\u011funa dair bir ipucu var. Branner’\u0131 senin \u00f6ld\u00fcrd\u00fc\u011f\u00fcne inanm\u0131yorum. Onu \u00f6ld\u00fcren \u015fey her ne ise \u015fu anda orada. Hikayende mant\u0131kl\u0131 olmayan \u00e7ok fazla \u015fey var ama bir fenerin bu \u015fekilde s\u00f6nmesinin de pek mant\u0131kl\u0131 bir taraf\u0131 yok. Yukar\u0131da ki bu \u015feyin insan oldu\u011funu inanm\u0131yorum. Daha \u00f6nce karanl\u0131kta u\u011fra\u015fmaktan korktu\u011fum hi\u00e7bir \u015fey olmad\u0131 ama g\u00fcn do\u011fana kadar oraya \u00e7\u0131km\u0131yorum. \u015eafa\u011fa az kald\u0131. Giri\u015fteki balkonda bekleyece\u011fiz.”<\/p>\n
Geni\u015f verandaya vard\u0131klar\u0131nda y\u0131ld\u0131zlar \u00e7oktan silinmeye ba\u015flam\u0131\u015ft\u0131. Buckner y\u00fcz\u00fcn\u00fc kap\u0131ya d\u00f6nerek korkulu\u011fa oturdu, tabancas\u0131 parmaklar\u0131ndan sark\u0131yordu. Griswell yan\u0131na oturdu ve \u00e7\u00f6kmekte olan s\u00fctuna yasland\u0131. G\u00f6zlerini kapad\u0131, zonklayan beynini serinleten hafifi esinti i\u00e7in minnettard\u0131. Ger\u00e7ek d\u0131\u015f\u0131, donuk biri duygu tatt\u0131. Ba\u015fka bir \u00fclkede yabanc\u0131yd\u0131, aniden kapkara deh\u015fetle dolan bir \u00fclke. Ya\u011fl\u0131 ilme\u011fin g\u00f6lgesi \u00fczerinde s\u00fcz\u00fcl\u00fcyordu, o karanl\u0131k evde John Branner kesik kafas\u0131yla \u00f6ylece yat\u0131yordu t\u0131pk\u0131 bir hayalin \u00fcr\u00fcn\u00fc gibi, bu hakikat beyninde b\u00fck\u00fcl\u00fcp girdapla\u015fm\u0131\u015ft\u0131 ta ki her \u015fey gri alacakaranl\u0131kta birle\u015fene ve uyku davetsiz bir misafir gibi yorgun ruhuna girene kadar.<\/p>\n
So\u011fuk beyaz bir \u015fafa\u011fa, hat\u0131ras\u0131ndaki gecenin deh\u015fetiyle uyand\u0131. Sis \u00e7amlar\u0131n saplar\u0131 etraf\u0131nda k\u0131vr\u0131larak bozuk yolda dumanl\u0131 bir demet halinde s\u00fcr\u00fcnd\u00fc. Buckner onu sall\u0131yordu.<\/p>\n
“Uyan! Sabah oldu.”<\/p>\n
Griswell uyand\u0131, kaskat\u0131 uzuvlar\u0131yla irkilmi\u015fti. Surat\u0131 gri ve k\u00f6hneydi.<\/p>\n
“Ben haz\u0131r\u0131m. \u00dcst kata \u00e7\u0131kal\u0131m.”<\/p>\n
“Ben \u00e7oktan \u00e7\u0131kt\u0131m!” Sabah\u0131n erken \u0131\u015f\u0131klar\u0131yla Buckner’\u0131n g\u00f6zleri yand\u0131. “Seni uyand\u0131rmad\u0131m. Hava ayd\u0131nlan\u0131r ayd\u0131nlanmaz \u00e7\u0131kt\u0131m. Hi\u00e7bir \u015fey bulamad\u0131m.”<\/p>\n
“\u00c7\u0131plak ayak izleri-“<\/p>\n
“Yok!”<\/p>\n
“Yok mu?”<\/p>\n
“Evet, yok! Toz Branner’\u0131n izlerinin sona erdi\u011fi andan itibaren koridora da\u011f\u0131t\u0131lm\u0131\u015f, k\u00f6\u015felere yay\u0131lm\u0131\u015f. \u015eu anda orada hi\u00e7 bir \u015feyin izini s\u00fcremezsin. Biz burada otururken bir \u015fey o izleri yok etti ve ben hi\u00e7 bir \u015fey duymad\u0131m. B\u00fct\u00fcn evi dola\u015ft\u0131m. Tek bir iz yok.”<\/p>\n
Griswell, Buckner ara\u015ft\u0131rmas\u0131n\u0131 yaparken verandada yaln\u0131z uyudu\u011fu d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcncesiyle \u00fcrperdi.<\/p>\n
Bitkin bir halde, “Ne yapaca\u011f\u0131z?” diye sordu. “O izler kayboldu\u011funa g\u00f6re, hik\u00e2yemi kan\u0131tlayabilecek tek \u015fans da gitti.”<\/p>\n
“Branner’\u0131n cesedini il\u00e7e merkezine g\u00f6t\u00fcrece\u011fiz,” dedi Buckner. “Konu\u015fmay\u0131 bana b\u0131rak. Yetkililer ger\u00e7ekleri g\u00f6r\u00fcnd\u00fc\u011f\u00fc \u015fekilde bilirlerse su\u00e7lu bulunman ve hapsedilmen konusunda \u0131srar ederler. Branner’\u0131 senin \u00f6ld\u00fcrd\u00fc\u011f\u00fcne inanm\u0131yorum ama ne B\u00f6lge Savc\u0131s\u0131, ne yarg\u0131\u00e7 ne de j\u00fcri bana s\u00f6ylediklerine inanmaz ya da d\u00fcn gece ba\u015f\u0131m\u0131za gelenlere. Bu i\u015fi kendi y\u00f6ntemimle halledece\u011fim. Di\u011fer t\u00fcm olas\u0131l\u0131klar\u0131 t\u00fcketene kadar seni tutuklamayaca\u011f\u0131m.<\/p>\n
Kasabaya vard\u0131\u011f\u0131m\u0131zda burada olanlar hakk\u0131nda konu\u015fma. B\u00f6lge Savc\u0131s\u0131na k\u0131saca John Branner’\u0131n bir grup ya da bilinmeyen ki\u015filerce \u00f6ld\u00fcr\u00fcld\u00fc\u011f\u00fcn\u00fc ve bu konu \u00fczerinde \u00e7al\u0131\u015ft\u0131\u011f\u0131m\u0131 s\u00f6yleyece\u011fim.<\/p>\n
Benimle bu eve gelip d\u00fcn gece Branner ile uyudu\u011funuz ayn\u0131 odada geceyi benimle ge\u00e7irecek misin?”<\/p>\n
Griswell bembeyaz oldu ama atalar\u0131n\u0131n Pequotlara kar\u015f\u0131 kul\u00fcbelerini korumak i\u00e7in kararl\u0131l\u0131klar\u0131n\u0131 g\u00f6sterdi\u011fi gibi sert bir \u015fekilde cevap verdi: “Yapaca\u011f\u0131m.”<\/p>\n
“Gidelim o halde; cesedi arabana g\u00f6t\u00fcrmeme yard\u0131m et.”<\/p>\n
Buz gibi seher vaktinde, Griswell’in ruhu John Branner’\u0131n ruhsuz surat\u0131n\u0131 ve so\u011fuk etini hissedince i\u011frendi. Gri sis, onlar \u00fcrk\u00fct\u00fcc\u00fc y\u00fcklerini \u00e7imlerin \u00fczerinde ta\u015f\u0131rken bacaklar\u0131n\u0131 ince dokuna\u00e7lar gibi sard\u0131.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\t
<\/p>\n\n
But common sense held him back.<\/p>\n
“I wouldn’t have a chance in the dark,” he muttered. “And I’ve got a hunch the light would go out again.”<\/p>\n
He turned and faced Griswell squarely.<\/p>\n
“There’s no use dodgin’ the question. There’s somethin’ hellish in this house, and I believe I have an inklin’ of what it is. I don’t believe you killed Branner. Whatever killed him is up there-now. There’s a lot about your yarn that don’t sound sane; but there’s nothin’ sane about a flashlight goin’ out like this one did. I don’t believe that thing upstairs is human. I never met anything I was afraid to tackle in the dark before, but I’m not goin’ up there until daylight. It’s not long until dawn. We’ll wait for it out there on that gallery.”<\/p>\n
The stars were already paling when they came out on the broad porch. Buckner seated himself on the balustrade, facing the door, his pistol dangling in his fingers. Griswell sat down near him and leaned back against a crumbling pillar. He shut his eyes, grateful for the faint breeze that seemed to cool his throbbing brain. He experienced a dull sense of unreality. He was a stranger in a strange land, a land that had become suddenly imbued with black horror. The shadow of the noose hovered above him, and in that dark house lay John Branner, with his butchered head-like the figments of a dream these facts spun and eddied in his brain until all merged in a gray twilight as sleep came uninvited to his weary soul.<\/p>\n
He awoke to a cold white dawn and full memory of the horrors of the night. Mists curled about the stems of the pines, crawled in smoky wisps up the broken walk. Buckner was shaking him.<\/p>\n
“Wake up! It’s daylight.”<\/p>\n
Griswell rose, wincing at the stiffness of his limbs. His face was gray and old.<\/p>\n
“I’m ready. Let’s go upstairs.”<\/p>\n
“I’ve already been!” Buckner’s eyes burned in the early dawn. “I didn’t wake you up. I went as soon as it was light. I found nothin’.”<\/p>\n
“The tracks of the bare feet-“<\/p>\n
“Gone!”<\/p>\n
“Gone?”<\/p>\n
“Yes, gone! The dust had been disturbed all over the hall, from the point where Branner’s tracks ended; swept into corners. No chance of trackin’ anything there now. Something obliterated those tracks while we sat here, and I didn’t hear a sound. I’ve gone through the whole house. Not a sign of anything.”<\/p>\n
Griswell shuddered at the thought of himself sleeping alone on the porch while Buckner conducted his exploration.<\/p>\n
“What shall we do?” he asked listlessly. “With those tracks gone there goes my only chance of proving my story.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“We’ll take Branner’s body into the county-seat,” answered Buckner. “Let me do the talkin’. If the authorities knew the facts as they appear, they’d insist on you being confined and indicted. I don’t believe you killed Branner-but neither a district attorney, judge nor jury would believe what you told me, or what happened to us last night. I’m handlin’ this thing my own way. I’m not goin’ to arrest you until I’ve exhausted every other possibility.<\/p>\n
“Say nothin’ about what’s happened here, when we get to town. I’ll simply tell the district attorney that John Branner was killed by a party or parties unknown, and that I’m workin’ on the case.<\/p>\n
“Are you game to come back with me to this house and spend the night here, sleepin’ in that room as you and Branner slept last night?”<\/p>\n
Griswell went white, but answered as stoutly as his ancestors might have expressed their determination to hold their cabins in the teeth of the Pequots: “I’ll do it.”<\/p>\n
“Let’s go then; help me pack the body out to your auto.”<\/p>\n
Griswell’s soul revolted at the sight of John Branner’s bloodless face in the chill white dawn, and the feel of his clammy flesh. The gray fog wrapped wispy tentacles about their feet as they carried their grisly burden across the lawn.<\/p>\n
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