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boucher book oct28.pdf - Index of

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26 Anthony Boucher<br />

rested on Wolf’s long index finger, moved up to his heavy meeting eyebrows, and<br />

returned to the finger. There was a suspicion <strong>of</strong> a startled realization in those eyes<br />

as he left the <strong>of</strong>fice.<br />

But that was nonsense, Wolf told himself. A private detective, no matter how<br />

shrewd his eyes, no matter how apparently meaningless his inquiries, would surely<br />

be the last man on earth to notice the signs <strong>of</strong> lycanthropy.<br />

Funny. “Werewolf” was a word you could accept. You could say, “I’m a werewolf,”<br />

and it was all right. But say “I am a lycanthrope” and your flesh crawled. Odd. Possibly<br />

material for a paper on the influence <strong>of</strong> etymology on connotation for one <strong>of</strong><br />

the learned periodicals.<br />

But, hell! Wolfe Wolf was no longer primarily a scholar. He was a werewolf now,<br />

a white-magic werewolf, a werewolf-for-fun; and fun he was going to have. He lit<br />

his pipe, stared at the blank paper on his desk, and tried desperately to draft a letter<br />

to Gloria. It should hint at just enough to fascinate her and hold her interest until<br />

he could go south when the term ended and reveal to her the whole wonderful new<br />

truth. It—<br />

Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Oscar Fearing grunted his ponderous way into the <strong>of</strong>fice. “Good<br />

afternoon, Wolfe. Hard at it, my boy?”<br />

“Afternoon,” Wolf replied distractedly, and continued to stare at the paper.<br />

“Great events coming, eh? Are you looking forward to seeing the glorious<br />

Gloria?”<br />

Wolf started. “How— What do you mean?”<br />

Fearing handed him a folded newspaper. “You hadn’t heard?”<br />

Wolf read with growing amazement and delight:<br />

GLORIA GARTON TO ARRIVE FRIDAY<br />

Local Girl Returns to Berkeley<br />

As part <strong>of</strong> the most spectacular talent hunt since the search for Scarlett<br />

O’Hara, Gloria Garton, glamorous Metropolis starlet, will visit Berkeley<br />

Friday.<br />

Friday afternoon at the Campus Theater, Berkeley canines will have<br />

their chance to compete in the nationwide quest for a dog to play Tookah<br />

the wolf dog in the great Metropolis epic “Fangs <strong>of</strong> the Forest,” and Gloria<br />

Garton herself will be present at the auditions.<br />

“I owe so much to Berkeley,” Miss Garton said. “It will mean so much<br />

to me to see the campus and the city again.” Miss Garton has the starring<br />

human role in “Fangs <strong>of</strong> the Forest.”<br />

Miss Garton was a student at the University <strong>of</strong> California when she<br />

received her first chance in films. She is a member <strong>of</strong> Mask and Dagger,<br />

honorary dramatic society, and Rho Rho Rho Sorority.<br />

Wolfe Wolf glowed. This was perfect. No need now to wait till term was over. He<br />

could see Gloria now and claim her in all his wolfish vigor. Friday—today was<br />

Wednesday; that gave him two nights to practice and perfect the technique <strong>of</strong><br />

werewolfry. And then—

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