The Project Gutenberg EBook of Isle of the Undead, by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach

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Title: Isle of the Undead

Author: Lloyd Arthur Eshbach

Release Date: May 21, 2010 [EBook #32470]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Transcriber's 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.

[Illustration: "One hand closed on his thin neck, and the other, a
rock-like fist, made a bloody ruin of his mouth."]

Isle of the Undead

By LLOYD ARTHUR ESHBACH

_A gripping, thrilling, uncanny tale about the frightful
fate that befell a yachting party on the dreadful island of
living dead men_

* * * * *

_1. A Horror from the Past_

A drab gray sheet of cloud slipped stealthily from the moon's round
face, like a shroud slipping from the face of one long dead, a coldly
phosphorescent face from which the eyes had been plucked. Yellow
radiance fell toward a calm, oily sea, seeking a narrow bank of fog
lying low on the water, penetrating its somber mass like frozen yellow
fingers.

Vilma Bradley shuddered and shrank against Clifford Darrell's brawny
form. "It's--it's ghastly, Cliff!" she said.

"Ghastly?" Darrell leaned against the rail, laughing softly. "One
cocktail too many--that's the answer. It's given you the jitters.
Listen!" Faintly from the salon came strains of dance music and the
rhythmic shuffle of feet. "A nifty yacht, a South Sea moon, a radio
dance orchestra, dancers--and little Clifford! And you call it
ghastly!" Almost savagely his arms tightened about her, and the
bantering note left his voice. "I'm crazy about you, Vilma."

She tried to laugh, but it was an unconvincing sound. "It's the moon,
Cliff--I guess. I never saw it like that before. Something's going to
happe