Випадок Чарльза Декстера Варда

           LittlebylittletheregrewupontheWardfamilytheconvictionthatsomethingwaswrong.Charleshadhadfreaksandchangesofminorinterestsbefore,butthisgrowingsecrecyandabsorptioninstrangepursuitswasunlikeevenhim.Hisschoolworkwasthemerestpretence;andalthoughhefailedinnotest,itcouldbeseenthattheolderapplicationhadallvanished.Hehadotherconcernmentsnow;andwhennotinhisnewlaboratorywithascoreofobsoletealchemicalbooks,couldbefoundeitherporingoveroldburialrecordsdowntownorgluedtohisvolumesofoccultloreinhisstudy,wherethestartlingly—onealmostfanciedincreasingly—similarfeaturesofJosephCurwenstaredblandlyathimfromthegreatovermantelontheNorthwall.

           LateinMarchWardaddedtohisarchive-searchingaghoulishseriesoframblesaboutthevariousancientcemeteriesofthecity.Thecauseappearedlater,whenitwaslearnedfromCityHallclerksthathehadprobablyfoundanimportantclue.HisquesthadsuddenlyshiftedfromthegraveofJosephCurwentothatofoneNaphthaliField;andthisshiftwasexplainedwhen,upongoingoverthefilesthathehadbeenover,theinvestigatorsactuallyfoundafragmentaryrecordofCurwen’sburialwhichhadescapedthegeneralobliteration,andwhichstatedthatthecuriousleadencoffinhadbeeninterred’10ft.S.and5ft.W.ofNaphthaliField’sgraveiny—