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Speaker 1: The Terrible Old Man by H. P. Lovecraft. It was

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the design of Angelo Ricci and Joe Zanik and Manuel

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Silva to call on the Terrible Old Man. This old

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man dwells all alone in a very ancient house on

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Water Street near the sea, and is reputed to be

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both exceedingly rich and exceedingly feeble, which forms a situation

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very attractive to man of the professions of Messrs Ricci,

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Zanak and Silver, for that profession was nothing less dignified

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than a robbery. The inhabitants of Kingsport say and think

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many things about the Terrible old Man, which generally keep

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him safe from the attention of gentlemen like mister Ricci

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and his colleagues, despite the almost certain fact that he

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hides a fortune of indefinite magnitudes somewhere about his musty

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and venerable abode. He is, in truth a very strange person,

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believed to have been a captain of East India clipper

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ships in his day, so old that no one can

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remember when he was young, and so taciturn that few

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know his real name. Among the gnarled trees in the

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front yard of his aged and neglected place, he maintains

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a strange collection of large stones, oddly crouped and painted

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so that they resemble the idols in some obscure Eastern temple.

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This collection frightens away most of the small boys, who

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love to taunt the terrible old man about his long

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white hair and beard, or to break the small paned

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windows of his dwelling with wicked missiles. But there are

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other things which frighten the older and more curious folk,

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who sometimes steal upon the house to peer in through

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the dusty panes. These folks say that on a table

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in a bare room on the ground floor are many

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peculiar bottles, in each a small piece of lead suspended

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pendulum wise from a string. And they say that the

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terrible old Man talks to these bottles, addressing them by

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such names as Jack Scarface, Long Tom, Spanish, Joe Peters,

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and Mate Ellis, and that whenever he speaks to a bottle,

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the little lead pendulum within makes certain definite vibrations, as

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if in answer. Those who have watched the tall, lean,

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terrible old man in these peculiar conversations do not watch

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him again. But Angelo Ricci, and Joe Zanak and Manuel

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Silver were not of Kingsport blood. They were of that

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new and heterogeneous alien stalk which lies outside the charmed

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circle of New England life and traditions. And they saw

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in the terrible old man, merely at tottering, almost helpless

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gray beard, who could not walk without the aid of

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his knotted cane, and whose thin, weak hands shook pitifully.

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They were really quite sorry in their way for the lonely,

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unpopular old fellow whom everybody shunned, and at whom all

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the dogs barked singularly. But business is business, and to

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a robber whose soul is in his profession, there is

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a lure and a challenge about a very old and

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very feeble man who has no account at the bank,

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and who pays for his few necessities at the village

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store with Spanish gold and silver minted two centuries ago.

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Messrs Richies Zannack and Silver selected the night of April

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eleventh for their call. Mister Ricchie and mister Silver were

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to interview the poor old gentleman, whilst mister Zanik waited

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for them and their presumable metallic burden with a covered

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water car in Ship Street by the gate in the

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tall rear wall of their host's grounds. Desire to avoid

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needless explanations in case of unexpected police intrusions prompted these

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plans for a quiet and unostentatious departure. As pre arranged,

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the three adventurers started out separately in order to prevent

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any evil minded suspicions. Afterward, Messrs Ricci and Silver met

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in Water Street by the old man's front gate, and

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although they did not like the way the moon shone

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down upon the painted stones through the budding branches of

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the gnarled trees, they had more important things to think

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about than mere idle superstition. They feared it might be

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unpleasant work making the terrible old man loquacious concerning his

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hoarded gold and silver. For aged sea captains are notably

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stubborn and perverse. Still, he was very old, old and

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very feeble, and there were two visitors. Messrs Ricci and

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Silver were experienced in the art of making unwilling persons voluble,

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and the screams of a weak and exceptionally venerable man

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can be easily muffled. So they moved up to the

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one lighted window and heard the terrible old man talking

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childishly to his bottles with pendulums. Then they donned masks

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and knocked politely at the weather stained oaken door. Waiting

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seemed very long to mister Xanik as he fidgeted restlessly

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in the covered motor car by the terrible old man's

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back gate in Ship Street. He was more than ordinarily

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tender hearted, and he did not like the hideous screams

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he had heard in the ancient house just after the

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hour appointed for the deed. Had he not told his

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colleagues to be as gentle as possible with the pathetic

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old sin captain. Very nervously, he watched that narrow oaken

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gate in the high and ivy clad stone wall frequently.

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He consulted his watch and wondered at the delay. Had

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the old man died before revealing where his treasure was

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hidden and a thorough search become necessary. Mister Xanik did

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not like to wait so long in the dark in

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such a place. Then he sensed a soft tread or

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tapping on the walk inside the gate, heard a gentle

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fumbling at the rusty latch, and saw the narrow, heavy

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door swing inward and in the pallid glow of the

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single dim street lamp. He strained his eyes to see

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what his colleagues had brought out of that sinister house,

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which loomed so close behind. But when he looked, he

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did not see what he had expected, for his colleagues

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were not there at all, but only the terrible law

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old man, leaning quietly on his knotted cane and smiling hideously.

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Mister Xanik had never before noticed the color of that

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man's eyes. Now he saw that they were yellow. Little

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things make considerable excitement in little towns, which is the

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reason that Kingsport people talked all that spring and summer

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about the three unidentifiable bodies, horribly slashed as with many cutlasses,

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and horribly mangled, as by the tread of many cruel

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boot heels which the tide washed in. And some people

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even spoke of things as trivial as the deserted motor

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car found in Ship Street, or certain especially in human cries,

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probably of a stray animal or migratory bird, heard in

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the night by wakeful citizens. But in this idle village gossip,

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the terrible old man took no interest at all. He was,

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by nature reserved, and when one is aged and feeble,

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one's reserve is doubly strong. Besides, so ancient a sea

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captain must have witnessed scores of things much more stirring

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in the far off days of his unremembered youth. End

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of the terrible old Man.