Elliot O'Donnell

“ Paul and I sat in a stupor, terrified by this outrageous and impossible combat whose progress we could follow all too readily by the succession of thumps and crashes that marked its course about the room.
"Help! The damned thing's killing me!" shrieked Mark. And wrenched from our stupor by his shout of terror, we leaped to his assistance.
We found ourselves fighting for our lives. The thing we grappled, and from whose frenzy we sought to rescue Mark, seemed no longer a table, but a writhing, frantic beast of prey. ”

“ I'm a reputable dealer, sir."
"Not so bad," I congratulated myself, as I left the shop with a bill of sale. "Perhaps it isn't stolen property; but there certainly is something wrong with its past . . . though I care not a hoot in a hailstorm," I concluded, as I pictured Yvonne's ecstasies at that pagan table with its savage claws, curiously carved legs, and catlike grace. If the personality of a piece of furniture could grow on me in such a short while, her temperamental majesty would undoubtedly be thrilled from her toenails to her eyebrows. ”

“ And we backed out of the drawingroom, not daring to turn our backs to that wooden monster.
The three of us sank into a heavy sleep from which we did not emerge until nearly noon.
Primed with coffee and several slugs A of brandy, we ventured into the drawing-room to contemplate the havoc wrought by that fearful combat; and not even daylight would entirely restore our courage. I stared at that lustrously gleaming table, and wondered how nearly those fine, fierce claws had missed a second immersion in blood; and then I glanced at Paul and Mark. A common impulse drew us to the fireplace. ”

“ They were wonderful: exquisitely fashioned, curving slightly outward and ending in feet fashioned to resemble the paws of a beast of prey— savage, pitiless claws whose realism made me for a moment wonder why the table was not confined in a cage.
More odd than the table itself was the heavy chain that secured one leg to a massive ring in the floor.
"Fifteen guineas," I reflected. Then, to the dealer: "What the devil! Do you chain it to keep it from walking away? For it's certainly too heavy to steal." ”

“ The noises in the comer had by this time entirely ceased. Again there was a long, oppressive silence; and it was not until 1, or perhaps half past—I had lost track of time, and a single stroke of the hall clock told me nothing—when there came another sigh, then another creak, and then a persistent, muffled throbbing, like the pulsing of African war-drums from a great distance: that same ominous, brooding thump-thump that had haunted me the past two nights; that solemn, fateful, deliberate beating that speaks of war and massacre and the devices of jungle devil-doctors. ”

“ And thus I gave little thought to the strange conduct of Goole, our collie, who, as the porters entered with the table, growled, and fled from the room, whining.
"'Vonne, it's lovely . . . and so odd," remarked Annie, as Yvonne with a final caress broke away from me and set to work dusting the lustrous tabletop. "It's positively uncanny how anything of wood can be so lifelike. I’m almost afraid to turn my back to it."
"And Val calls me temperamental!" jeered Yvonne.
But it does remind me of some beast of prey," insisted Annie. "Why, even the wood has leopard markings——"
"Stupid!" ”

“ One can imagine them tearing and rending one to pieces."
"How fantastic!"
Yvonne laughed. But I caught a troubled light in her eyes.
That night before going to bed we moved the table very carefully into one corner of the drawing-room, locked the door, and took out the key. Being very tired, we were soon asleep.
But my sleep was troubled. A solemn, deep-toned purring rolled in my ears, impressing itself on my sleep, and finally increasing to a pitch that woke me from my troubled half-sleep. Then, as before, came that dull thump-thump as of some wooden monster seeking to advance stealthily. ”

“ Paul kindled a fire.
“Yes. I’ll chop the damned thing to bits and bum it,” I exclaimed quite needlessly. “Watch that beast while I get an ax.”
Mark, whose bruises and lacerations were quite painful, would not hear of first aid, and insisted that the execution take place at once.
My friends mustered up their courage and maneuvered that devilish, beautiful table into position so that I could swing freely without being cramped by chandeliers or furniture. ”

“ That should have finished me, but I came up for more, mentioning the heavy chains that had shackled the table to the floor of the furniture store.
"I will admit," I improvised, "that this may be one of those odd and precious pieces that some collector covets; and by terrorizing the dealer, he hopes to beat down the price . . . only I came along and crabbed the game, so I'm getting a taste of some collector's schrechlichkeit. . . ."
Rather good, what? I thought so; and Annie didn't argue. Yvonne was thrilled at the glittering notion. ”

“ I demanded. "I paid enough for this piece of iniquity, and by God I'll wreck it if I feel like it!"
"We jolly well will!" asserted Paul. "And since you sold it, what have you to say about it, my man?"
"Please, sir, put that ax aside and let me explain," begged the dealer. "It can't hurt you in daylight."
"So you knew all the while——"
The shopkeeper squirmed, coughed, and resumed: "Here's fifteen guineas, sir. And consider that I've bought the table."
"Well, how about the damage to my drawing-room?" I demanded. ”

“ Great God, if we could only have a ray of light we might overcome this victorious Juggernaut which crushed and butted the life out of us, saw clearly in the darkness which confused us and nullified our efforts, shattered whatever co-operation might have turned the tide our way: for the cunning of the beast rather than its fierce energy dominated us. ”

“ True to his promise, the dealer delivered the table that very afternoon, shortly after I reached home and told Yvonne of my discovery. The lift as usual was out of order: so I was not surprized to note that the two men who brought the table to our apartment on the third floor were somewhat the worse for wear. They set it in the middle of the drawing-room as though it had been a red-hot rock, and edged away front it a pace or two.
"It's heavy as a battleship," I remarked, hefting it. ”