The Grey Tabby: Seven

Ms. Madison rose slowly, careful to keep her hands in view. At the same time, the Girl in Grey slumped in her chair, hoping no-one would notice. All the while, the gangsters strutted as though they were masters of London.

"You know the Met hasn't stood down," Ms. Madison declared in perfect cut-glass tones.

"Can it, duchess!" one of the mobsters turned, looking nasty. He was also angry, and glared at Ms. Madison.

"Or you'll what?" the blonde shot back, fearless. She heard the Outsider loading her crossbow. As the man raised his arm to strike, a crossbow-bolt hit him in the chest, and he fell to the floor, quite dead.

"It's her!" the gangsters shouted together, scanning the room for any trace of the Outsider. One of them saw something, but it turned out to be another crossbow bolt. As the same time, the Girl in Grey emerged from under the table, in cowl and costume. A single karate kick sent one man flying.

"The Girl in Grey!" the gangsters, now down to eight, turned on her. Ms. Madison shot one of them, and the Outsider got another.

The Girl in Grey ducked a couple of slugs, knocking a man back against the bar. Ms. Madison bounced a plate off a thug's head, while shooting another. The screams of gangsters and many guests filled the air, as the Outsider appeared, her eyes glowing, cross-bow clearly visible. Two more men fell victim to the terrifying figure.

"Get out." Ms. Madison addressed the remaining gangsters, her gun unwavering. "And remember, Scotland Yard will not stand down. The people of London support them."

The man raised his gun, only to have the Outsider shoot him in the shoulder. With his remaining fellows, the men turned and ran.

"They'll be back." Ms. Madison sighed.

"And we'll be there." The Outsider toted her crossbow menacingly.

The Grey Tabby: Six

Ms. Madion hopped out of Mr. Rake's car at the Savoy, gave him a lingering kiss, then turned and walked through the doors of the luxurious hotel. The doorman saluted her, recognising her as a frequent guest, while a page approached her as she passed the desk.


"Ms. Madison?" the question caused her to turn. "You have company waiting in the bar."


"Great," Ms. Madison smiled. "Who is it?"


"She didn't say," the page replied.


"She doesn't need to," Ms. Madison laughed. "If she is a she, then I know who it is. Any company with her?"

"A girl who normally wouldn't be allowed in here," the page smiled back. "But seeing as they were calling for you, Ms. Madison..."

"Thanks," the blonde smiled cutely, before heading on into the bar.

The Girl in Grey, dressed in a long coat, rose at Ms. Madison's entry. So did scruff, and the way the other chair moved indicated that the Outsider was with them.

"Shall we go to my suite?" Ms. Madison asked.

Before she could do anything more, the doors of the bar crashed open, and a horde of masked gunmen poured through.

The Grey Tabby: Five

The Girl in Grey was sat at home in her London flat, while the Outsider was practising her aim with her crossbow. Scruff was asleep on the sofa, her face buried in a cushion. With the sun sinking below the horizon, the street-lights going on slowly around the park. Her feet up, in costume and ready for the night ahead, the Girl in Grey did not want to get up. When the 'phone rang, it took her a little while to get up. The Outsider picked it up for her.

"Hullo," she spoke softly, voice carrying an air of menace.

"Hi there, Emily," Ms. Madison laughed, "how's the Outsider this New Year?"

"Bored," the Outsider complained. "It's dark and cold. The streets are empty, and the crooks are in their holes. Does the Green Man want someone killed?"

"I don't know," Ms. Madison confessed. "Right now, I'm round Mike Rake's. I've just heard about the threat to London."

"What threat?" the Outsider started. "Hey!"

"What is it?" the Girl in Grey's voice came on the line, urgent.

"A character calling themself the Grey Tabby has demanded that the Met stand down in two Divisions," Ms. Madison told the costumed crime-fighter." If they don't, then he says he'll strip London of its treasures."

"I'm coming over to the Savoy," the Girl in Grey spoke with determination. "See you there."

"And I'm coming too!" the Outsider came back on the line "- so no sticking around to canoodle with your boyfriend. And if you do, I'm coming over and getting in through the keyhole."


"I'll be there," Ms. Madison ran for the door.

"What is it?" Rake looked up.

"I have to get to the Savoy," Ms. Madison told him. "Important meeting with the girls."

"Come on," Rake put on his coat. "I'll run you back. After all, this is for London."

The Grey Tabby: Three

"There is no truth," Superintendent Madison told the assembled press, "in the rumour that the Prime Minister has advised us to do as this demand says. The demand, signed by 'the Grey Tabby' advises us that unless the Metropolitan Police Force stands down in Southwark and Greenwich the Museums of London will be stripped bare. Naturally, we shall not give in to these demands..."


"Naturally," Ms. Madison smiled, letting Mr. Rake put his arm about her slim waist. All going out forgotten, she naturally cuddled up to him. "My dad's a good man. The safety of the people matters much more to him than any number of treasures."


"And people matter more to you too, Lynette," Rake stole a kiss.


"Of course," Ms. Madison laughed, "and I suspect I'll be back to work very soon. This is just the sort of work for the Green Man."


"And you father?"


"Will be furious," Ms. Madison lifted her face, laughing. "Now, I need to make a 'phone call to another grey feline. One on the side of right and good."

"I'm glad to hear it," Rake laughed. "And then I'll see you back to the Savoy."

The Grey Tabby: Two

Ms. Madison was, for a change, not dancing with Mr. Rake. Neither was she at the Savoy, as the waiters would have told anyone who asked. Instead, she was sat in front of the fire with her beau, drinking tea. The setting was Michael Rake's stylish penthouse, and Ms. Madison had called around to meet Mr. Rake prior to lunch. The fact that it was now after eight o'clock and they were still there indicated that something had caused her to change her mind.


"This is great, isn't it, Lynette?" Mr. Rake smiled, feeding the young blonde a biscuit. "Staying in, not going out, I mean."


"Oh, you bet," she chuckled softly. "And thanks for New Year's, Mike. It was swell."


"Oh, I agree," Rake smiled, voice soft, "and now I've seen your boss, I'm not in the least bit jealous, Lynette - not after you went to me, back there at Mainstone. Would you like to motor down to my father's place in Surey some weekend?"


"You bet," she breathed softly, "but I never know when the boss 'll need me. And I need to meet my father one of these weekends. He's starting to get annoyed with me."

"And we can't have that," Rake looked solemn. "Not when I'll need to ask him an important question soonish."

"Oh, Mike!" Ms. Madison giggled, "stop it!" In order to emphasise this, she turned on the television.

The picture that greeted her was one of New Scotland Yard. There, outside that breat glass and steel tower was the familiar, if corpulent figure of Superintendent Horace Madison. Underneath were the words, 'London Blackmail Threat.'

She could only gasp with suprise.

The Grey Tabby: One

The guard checked his watch. It was just a little bit before eleven. He smiled, glad that there were only a few hours before he was relieved. Night duty at the British Museum was nothing if it was not creepy, especially in the Egyptian galleries, among massive statues, visible only as strange shapes in the gloom. It was like walking in a massive indoor cemetery. Still, the pay was good, and the duties not too onerous.

Then he heard it. A cat crying, that strange, frightening sound which chills the blood, especially in the presence of so many parts so many statues of the Egyptian Cat Goddes, Bast. Turning, he illuminated his torch. What he saw shocked him.

A glass case was open, and he inside it was a little knitted Tabby cat.

New Year's Vengeance: Seven

"No!" The Disturber blanched, "you can't be here! Not for another twelve hours at least!"

"Because you were sighted in Trafalgar Square? Because you threatened to disrupt New Year's Eve?" The Green Man stepped further into the room, drawing his gun. "You forget, Disturber, I have many agents of vengeance." The masked man chuckled menacingly. "Soon after Ms. Madison left for Mainstone, you arrived at the house. By that time another of my agents was able to forward your picture to me."

Bristow stared, open-mouthed at the Green Man.

"And the line you threw Ms. Madison about my being Michael Rake!" the Green Man's tone was scornful. "You can see now who I am, Disturber!"

"I can," Bristow rose from the sofa, his hand going for a concealed weapon. "And now I know all I need to - men!"

The Green Man easily shot Bristow's gun from his hand.

"And don't think about the men outside." The Green Man laughed. "They will never bother anyone again."

"He's right you know." A red-headed figure familiar to Ms. Madison entered through the door, sitting down as soon as she could."

"Andrea!" Ms. Madison laughed with relief, "how are you?"

"Out of bullets," the red-head cracked.

"So, Monty Bristow," the Green Man laughed, "you thought to draw me into a trap. Instead, you are the one who is trapped. And don't try telling me that I'll never take you alive," the Green Man's voice was grim. "You belong in an asylum."

"And, because it's still the season of goodwill, and your blood would ruin the carpets" The Green Man showed in a couple of burly men in white coats, "you'll be carried out of here alive - not in a coffin." With that, he laid Monty Bristow out with a single blow. The villain was picked up, put in a strait-jacket and carried away, the Green Man watching impassively.

"Well," Lady Sylvia got up, "it's still not midnight. Won't you join us, Green Man?" She moved towards him, smiling.

"Sorry," the Green Man backed towards the door. "I have the Girl in Grey waiting outside. We have to make Peterborough in time for her to catch a train to Scotland. Farewell."

"But I," Rake stepped towards Ms. Madison, "am most definitely staying. Lynette?"

"Mike - darling..." she lifted her face.

New Year's Vengeance: Six

"Mike!" Ms. Madison crossed the room, an expresion of joy on her lovely features. "Boy, am I glad to see you!"

"And I'd glad to hear that, darling," Rake offered her an arm, "even if you are unusually demonstrative all of a sudden."

"I'll tell you why later," Ms. Madison told him, smiling sweetly. "Right now, I'm just happy you're here."

"Lady Sylvia," Rake sighed, "would you mind awfully telling me just exactly what's going on? Apart from Lynette's having a funny spell, that is."

"Oh, Michael!" Lady Sylvia giggled. "Our mystery guest, Mr. Matthew-Henry tells us you're the Green Man. Are you?"

"The Green Man?" Rake frowned. "I thought he was a myth. Lynette, what sort of joke is this?"

"Oh, it's no joke, is it, Lynette?" Bristow laughed mockingly. "Because you know the Green Man is no myth, don't you?"

"If you say so," Ms. Madison smiled innocently, recoving some of her spirits.

"And the idea of my being this sinister character," Michael Rake laughed. "Why, I'm just Lynette's beau - nothing else."

"I told you so!" Lady Sylvia exclaimed.

"But wasn't it convenient, Michael Rake just turning up when he was named as the Green Man?" the Disturber laughed mockingly. "Just in time.... How come?"

"Because it is the way of the Green Man." The French windows opened, and a familiar figure stepped into the room.

New Year's Vengeance: Five

A smile spread slowly over Ms. Madison's face, turning into a laugh which echoed through the mighty halls of Mainstone. She clapped her hands, looking at the Disturber with renewed confidence. He glared back at her.

"You expect me to believe that?" she scoffed. "Mike and the Green Man can't possibly be the same person."

"Can't they?" Bristow shook his head. "Tell me, Ms. Madison, have you ever seen them together?"

"I haven't seen Mike and the Prince of Wales together," Ms. Madison replied spiritedly, "but that doesn't mean they're one and the same person. What's your game, Disturber?"

"What is the game of the Disturber?" Bristow laughed. "I create chaos out of order. My motto is 'Out of One, Many.' But while you ponder this, while you wonder whether Mr. Rake is playing a little game with you, my blonde angel of death, I shall make hay."

"You can try," Ms. Madison shook her head, "but it won't work. I know your game, Bristow."

"All of it?" Bristow shook his head. "I sincerely doubt that. After all, you can't possibly have seen the men who surround this house. No-one will pass until my purpose is accomplished - the unmasking of the Green Man."

"You fiend!" Lady Sylvia spat, rounding on him, "and to think I welcomed you into this house!"

"Given that your beauty is matched only by your stupidity, Lady Sylvia," Bristow chuckled, "I should not worry too much."

"That's just not on!" a new voice broke in on the gathering. Looking up, Ms. Madison saw a familiar figure.

"Mike - Mr. Rake!" She shot to her feet.

"Lynette, darling," Rake drawled urbanely. "Do I intrude?"

New Year's Vengeance: Four

Ms. Madison could only look at the urbane figure of the Disturber, her mouth dry, head spinning. It seemed too incredible to believe - Monty Bristow knowing the identity of the Green Man! Why, she didn't know that!

"You..." she tried to speak, only to have the words die in her mouth.

"I do," Bistow chuckled. "Does that surprise you, Lynette Madison?"

"Yes," the blonde nodded, trembling slightly.

"Why this is thrilling!" Lady Sylvia laughed excitedly, clapping her hands. "The identity of the Green Man. And I always thought the police made him up to explain crimes they couldn't solve!"

Ms. Madison wished she could silence the bubbly brunette, as the Disturber smiled mockingly across the room.

"And don't pretend you don't know," the Disturber laughed. "Unless you're even dumber than I thought. After all, you are waiting for him, aren't you?"

"You mean to tell us that the Green Man my brother?" Lady Sylvia's eyes widened.

"No." The Disturber rose to his feet. "The Green Man is Michael Rake."

New Year's Vengeance: Three

There was silence for about a minute, as Ms. Madison and the Disturber regarded each other. Ms. Madison regarded the super-villian with suspicion, while he only smiled urbanely back.

"Why, Ms. Madison," he chuckled, "this is a surprise. Or may I call you Lynette?"

"You may not!" the blonde bristled. "What are you doing here?"

"Seeing in the New Year, like everyone else," the Disturber replied. "I assume you're doing the same thing."

"Oh! Lynette!" Lady Sylvia laughed, "so you know our mystery guest!"

"You could say that." Ms. Madison scowled, her lovely features darkening.

"Cheer up, Lynette," the Disturber's tone was mocking. "I'm sure you'll come to accept me in time. After all, we have so much in common, you and I."

"We'll see..." Ms. Madison smiled mysteriously.

"Great!" Lady Sylvia smiled hopefully. "Shall we play some getting-to-know-you games?" There was a note of cute enthusiasm in the brunette's voice, as she clapped her hands.

"Why not?" the Disturber laughed urbanely, and Ms. Madison felt sure something was wrong. She didn't have him figured for that type. But then, he was a mad supervillain.

"What we'll do," Lady Sylvia started handing out pens and bits of paper, "is write down one fascinating fact and one embarrassing moment. They'll be put in a hat and jumbled about. Then I'll pick them out one at a time. I'll read the thing out, then give three people who it might be true of. You'll vote, and the person who gets the most right wins - won't that be fun?" The young aristocrat positively bubbled with excitement.

They did as instructed, laughing happily. Ms. Madison chuckled, scribbling eagerly on her scrap of paper. She laughed as she wrote down her embarrassing moment. Soon the pieces of paper were all in the hat, and Lady Sylvia took charge, smiling as she reached into the hat.

"Who once got lost on their way home?" the brunette asked, laughing. "Despite having lived there for three years?"

"You did!" one of the young men cried.

"I have to give you a choice!" Lady Sylvia shouted, waving her arms. "I have to give you a choice!"

"Sorry, Sylv." The young man laughed heartily, "I guess I spoiled it."

"Nope," Lady Sylvia chuckled, "I'll just move on to the next one. Now, is this Lynette, Joan or me? 'I once walked down to the Savoy ballroom in my undies.'"

Lady Sylvia got the most votes, but it was Ms. Madison whose embarrassing moment it was. In fact, she'd had to pretend she was the Green Man in order to help him escape, and that had been the only way to re-appear as herself.

"Next," Lady Slvia laughed, getting into the swing of things. Is this...." Her voice trailed off. "Wow!" She gasped. "Is this Joan, Toby or Mr. Matthew-Henry: 'I know the true identity of the Green Man'!"

The look on Bristow's face said it all.

New Year's Vengeance: Two

Ms. Madison reached Mainstone Hall just after four o'clock. In the gathering dusk, she could see the great gothic bulk of the mansion. It would have been nice to reflect on the many ancestors of Lord Ambrose Vaughan who had built up the estate. However, that would have been false. Lord Ambrose was a younger son who had inherited a great deal of money from a favourite aunt. He had bought Mainstone when it was derelict and facing demolition. His aunt's old home, and Lord Ambrose's occasional seat, was located in the Home Counties, closer to the London Clubland that was Lord Ambrose's natural habitat.

Not that Ms. Madison was complaining, for Lord Ambrose was a good 'sport.' As she stepped out of the car, the gravel crunching under her shoe, she looked at the brightly lit window that indicated the entrance hall of the mansion. Approaching the door, she rang the bell.

The door was opened by a lovely, friendly looking brunette in a yellow gown and fur coat.

"Hullo," the girl smiled, "I'm so glad you could come, Lynette. Ambrose is sorry he can't be here too, but a friend of his is holding a party in London before he goes off on a round-the-world cruise. Stil," she extended a soft, perfumed hand, "it'll be wonderful having you over."

"Thanks, Lady Sylvia," the blonde took the proferred hand. "I'm just glad to be here. When do the other guests arrive?"

"Apart from your Mr. Rake," Lady Sylvia laughed, "they're all here. Come into the Drawing Room, I'll introduce you."

The drawing room was a palatial structure, rising through two floors, with galleries. Well-dressed young men and women lounged on sofas and armchairs. The air was filled with the buzz of conversation, drinks standing on the side, liveried waiters stood by with refills.

"Wonderfully decadent," Lady Sylvia laughed. "This," she addressed the assembled company, "is Lynette Madison, a very good friend of my brother and I."

"Well," one of the young ladies laughed, "any friend of yours is a friend of mine, Sylv." She spoke with a very slight Scots burr.

"That's Mary Laing," Lady Sylvia informed the blonde, "her father has a huge palace in Scotland, as well as a nice pad in London. Her brother's with Ambrose at this good-bye party."

"Hullo, Lynette," Mary, a regal-looking brunette, gave Ms. Madison a little wave.

"Hiya, Mary," Ms. Madison smiled at the pretty Scottish girl.

"And, Lynette, this most interesting gentleman is Mr. Robert Matthew-Henry." Lady Sylvia indicated a man in his late thirties, lounging in a particularly shapeless armchair.

Ms. Madison tried very hard not to start when she laid eyes on the man in the armchair. As secretary to the Green Man, she knew most of the serious villains in the world by sight. And while she did not recognise the London gangster the Green Man had referred to, she did recognise this man. Under the long, elegantly curling hair and the moustache was the face of Monty Bristow - alias The Disturber!

The Creeping Thing: Part Eleven

In the bright glare of morning, the shattered ruins of the derelict house looked very stark indeed. Rubble lay all about, and it was clear that no-one could have survived the building's collapse. Not that Mr. Lemon could have survived the attack by the Creeping thing, for that matter. But the exact circumstances would probably not be known until some curious person saw the twisted hand that stuck out from under the rubble of the collapsed building. Or the distorted, blood-stained, claw-like nails on the end of it, the long hair that lent it a bestial aspect.

"So," Ms. Madison turned to the Green Man, "why did you send me up to Llanthorn place?"

"I'd had my eye on Mr. Lemon for a while," the Green Man explained. "Lemon was partner in an investment firm that was revealed to have been investing in some very dubious biotechnology - including a man-primate hybrid. His partner had been about to give evidence against him when he was killed at Llanthorn place by some unknown creature. The Police were going to take him in for questioning, and I believed he would attempt to escape somehow."

"And the creeping thing?" the lovely blonde asked.

"The abomination created by those unethical experiments," the Green Man told her. He had trained it to be afraid of strong light - hence the searchlight. I realised that when he tried to use the creature to attack us, rather than shooting."

"So by shooting out the searchlight we made the creature attack him rather than us!" Ms. Madison gasped. "What do we do?"

"We disappear," the Green Man told his companion. "The news comes from London that Nora was delayed, andthey conclude that you were an impostor. By the time the collapse of this house is investigated, the body of Mr. Lemon will be completely unrecognisable - just another victim of the Creeping Thing. And no-one will ever know the extent of Mr. Lemon's evil."

"What about his wife?" Ms. Madison asked.

"She was the one who knew her husband had killed his partner," the Green Man told Ms. Madison. "It was she who contacted me."

New Year's Vengeance: One

The dawn of a new day broke over a London which was packed, bustling with tourists and bargain hunters. But in the Savoy Hotel, all was as calm and civilised as ever. From her third-floor window, looking out over the Thames, Ms. Madison could see the city swarming around her.She smiled, glad that she was able to be in London for the New Year. Still in her night things, Ms. Madison rose from her bed and walked over to the window, opening it so that she could hear the roar of traffic. It was nice to know that she was still in London, and that London was still there. She reached for the 'phone, considering that she should perhaps call Michael Rake, her long-suffering boyfriend. The last time they'd had a date, they had parted after exchanging harsh words. She hoped he would be in.

Still, she reflected, if she did call him, it would indicate that she cared for Rake more than she cared to admit. And that would put her at a disadvantage next time they met.

She was still weighing up the options when the 'phone rang. The blonde snatched up the reciever, adopting a pose of langour.

"Hi-ya..." the blonde sighed, voice low and husky.

"Ms. Madison," the Green Man's voice was urgent. "you are going to Mainstone Hall, Suffolk. You will leave Liverpool Street Station at two."

"But I was waiting for Mike - Mr. Rake!" she protested.

"Wait no more, Ms. Madison," the Green Man went on. "Rake will arrive at Mainstone Hall tomorrow, if you so wish."

"Thank you," Ms. Madison sighed. "I guess it's another houseparty. What is it this time? I can't imagine Lord Ambrose Vaughan's a villain."

"Nor I," the Green Man nodded. "But Lord Ambrose has been called away. The matter concerns one of his guests, Mr. Robert Matthew-Henry. I have my suspicions about him. I think he once went by another name. Charles Peake."

"The London gangster who drowned two years ago?" Ms. Madison gasped. "I'll be there!"

She picked up her suitcase from left luggage at the station, her usual practice, and boarded a train to Ipswich, where she was met by a Rolls-Royce bearing Lord Ambrose's coat of arms.

The Creeping Thing: Part Ten

As the red eyes moved closer, and the scrabbling of the Creeping Thing came closer, Ms. Madison grasped the Green Man's arm, her breathing erratic, eyes speaking of fear. The Green Man turned, raising his torch and his gun.

"Watch Lemon!" the Green Man instructed Ms. Madison. "And turn out that light!"

Taking a good pull at herself, Ms. Madison raised her gun, firing at the powerful searchlight.

"No!" Lemon screamed, as the light went out.

"Now hold me!" the Green Man yelled at Ms. Madison, as the breathing of the Creeping Thing came still closer. "Hold me as close as you can, Lynette! Hold on as if your life depended on it!"

"All right," she chuckled, as she followed his instructions. "But Mike 'll be mad if he finds out. What do we do now?"

The well-dressed blonde clung to the Green Man, closing her eyes and fighting to master herself. Any moment, she expected to feel the claws of the Creeping Thing on her back.

But nothing of the sort happened. The thing rans straight past them, before springing. The scream that came from the far end of the room told her that the Creeping Thing had turned on its master. As the Creeping Thing savaged Lemon, the Green Man and Ms. Madison retreated, keeping the torch beam on.

As they hurried back down the drive, towards the Green Man's mighty car, Ms. Madison heard a low roar. Behind them, something lit up the night sky. Turning, she saw the old house in ruins, ablaze from end to end.

"Lemon must have set a bomb," the Green Man told his secretary. "Just enough time for him to get clear, while the Creeping Thing finished us off. Well," he sighed, "now the creature, whatever it was, is gone for ever, destroyed with the evil mind that used it."

"Are you sure?" Ms. Madison sounded worried.

"We'll need to make sure in the morning," the Green Man told her. "There's a restaurant up in the mountains that's open all night."

"You wait there," she spoke with feeling. "I'm going to bed."

The Creeping Thing: Part Nine

There followed a breathless silence, as the Green Man and Ms. Madison stood in the doorway, looking at the seated figure, holding up their hands to shield their faces. At last,as their eyes adujusted to the light, they could make out the pale, bloated features of a man in black, a skull-cap on his head.


"Welcome to my hiding-place," he spoke again, voice soft, amused. "I see that the reputation of this house did not deter you."


"The reputation that this house is evil?" The Green Man laughed, shaking his head. "You and I both know that evil comes from the hearts of men, not buildings, and not monsters. Men."


"A crusader," the man laughed. "No wonder you wear a mask. But your young associate is unmasked. Is that not a weakness?"

"No." The Green Man shook his head again. "Once someone did kill one of my associates. No-one has done so since. Not since the man's body was discovered." The voice of the Green Man was grim, unyielding. "But youwear a deeper mask - Mr. Lemon!"


Ms. Madison started violently, as did the figure in the chair.


"How?" the man in the chair demanded. "Lemon was found dead, like the others, his face horribly mutilated."

"A body was found and identified as Lemon," the Green Man spoke softly. "But you and I know that the body was that of someone else. You are Mr. Lemon."


"Yes!" the figure laughed. "I am Mr. Lemon, a man the world believes to be dead!"

"And so you can avoid the charges of murder and fraud which you are due to be arrested on." The Green Man nodded grimly. "You thought to escape the justice which is due to you. But no man can escape the vengeance of the Green Man."

"No man?" Lemon laughed. "Look behind you, Green Man!"

Ms. Madison let out a gasp of shock. There, looking at them, was a pair of glowing red eyes.

"Green Man!" Lemon laughed, "meet the creeping thing, my terror!"

Closer and closer crept the ghastly thing. Ms. Madison could smell its fetid breath. When it howled, she could only scream.

The Creeping Thing: Part Eight

The Green Man stopped his car at the end of the drive which led to the decaying house. Its bulk showed up through the gloom, somehow very sinister and frightening. Built in the Tudor style, it clearly belonged to the early part of the twentieth century. While the Green Man stepped away from the car, drawing his gun, Ms. Madison put on lace-up walking boots. In the bleak landscape of the moor, she felt decidedly out of place in her party dress. She left her handbag behind, after drawing a little silver automatic from it. She meant to be ready for whatever evil lurked in that house.

Still, she hurried to catch up with the Green Man, a little beathless with fear. She had heard the thing that lurked in that building, hidden in the shadows, and she had no wish to meet it close up, alone.

"The house looks deserted," the Green Man observed, still holding fast to his gun. "But it would, even if it was actually inhabited. "That way the people would stay away, especially with the noises that you described.

"The noises I heard twice!" Ms. Madison bridled, "and other people heard it, in case you think I was just getting over-wrought."

"I know you better," the Green Man chuckled. "If you heard something, it was there. Now, come on, Ms. Madison. We've work to do."

The Green Man and his companion made their way to the door, which hung open on broken hinges. Ms. Madison went ahead of the Green Man, if only so she would be seen if she was attacked.

The rooms were mostly roofless, open to the sky. But the rooms to the right of the hallway were still roofed. It was into this section that they moved, the Green Man flicking on a torch.

"This is lonesome," Ms. Madison whispered. "I suppose it's nothing like that old place Mr. Rake and I went to when we fancied a spot of quiet necking. I sat down on the stairs but they fell on me."

"Which explains one of your rare absences," the Green Man chuckled. "I trust your leaving Mr. Rake at the Savoy wasn't too difficult."

"It was a rescue," Ms. Madison sighed. "We were fighting. He wants me to give up this job and marry him."

"And you?" the Green Man chuckled.

Before Ms. Madison could answer, the thing howled, close at hand. Ms. Madison jumped, her free hand grabbing the Green Man's arm.

"I'm thinking that might not be a bad idea right now," she trembled slightly, as the Green Man kicked open a door. At once, a great light went on, blinding the duo.

There, seated in the room, was the figure of a man.

"Come in," he spoke softly. "I've been expecting you."

The Creeping Thing: Part Seven

Ms. Madison spent the rest of the day getting to know her fellow guests - at least all that part of the day which was not spent talking to police. She found them to be the predicatable mixed bag. Two couples; John and Mary Ivers and Robert and Joan Key; three unattached young men; Alan Lane, Robin Footeman and Joseph Chambers; and four young women, apart from herself, Mary Martin, Jocelyn Lake and two sisters by the name of Sant, Lillian and Irene. They were rich, idle and scared of the thing out on the moor. She just knew that the Green Man was the only person who could help them. They were quite unable to help themselves.

The night saw another party, Ms. Madison changing into another smart party dress. She had to sing a few songs, but no more than that. However the Green Man had got her this job, it wasn't a bad one. Ms. Madison had once considered a career in entertainment, and was glad to see she was still good.

The party was full of music and laughter. It was as if the guests were trying very hard to forget the awful things that had taken place. Ms. Madison did not blame them, even if it seemed very decadent. Lane spent a great deal of time talking to her, which got Ms. Madison some nasty looks. After all, she was supposedly just the entertainment.

At last, the party ended. As the guests went to bed, Ms. Madison chanced a wander in the grounds. As she passed behind the gardens, a familiar figure stepped out from the shadows.

"Green Man!" the blonde sighed deeply. "Boy, am I glad to see you!"

"Good evening, Ms. Madison." He chuckled. "Shall we go for a drive?"

"Where... where to?" the blonde asked.

"Out on the moor." The Green Man's reply was what she had expected.