Samuel wrote:Gregory Atkinson
zielonobrody wrote:Donald Lutherhagen
Pleased to meet you Mr. Peabody. I'm Donald Lutherhagen. These gentlemen are Dr. Winston, Mr. Ackland and Mr. Atkinson. We were wondering if you could tell us anything unusual about the broken down bridge just out of town. May we sit down somewhere? It's silly standing around here like that.
Gregory quickly adds:
Peck from the Gazette referred us to you, he said nobody knows more about Arkham than you. Doesn't hurt to lightly stroke his ego, after all.
Ah, Peck, yes. He and I have collaborated several times on articles for a while now. Good man. A bit overambitious, perhaps, but still from good stock.
Anyhow, you were asking about the bridge? I'm assuming you mean the one out on Bowen Road? It's funny you mention that as I just wrote a story about it for the Advertiser about a month ago--Peck was furious at me for publishing it with his rival, by the way. I'm sure there's a copy around here somewhere. Unfortunately, I do have to run to an appointment, but Janice here can retrieve it for you. As I've mentioned I will be here all dat tomorrow if you feel you need further assistance.
Thank you for stopping by, gentlemen. Janice, would you please get the article on Bishop's Bridge for these fellows? I'm off, good day.
Mrs. Putnam says good bye to Peabody and excuses herself from the group to get the article. She heads upstairs to the second floor and is only gone for five minutes or so before returning with a small piece of paper.
Our archives and library are upstairs. The public is free to use them for a small fee, or of course you could join the Society and use all our resources for free! At any rate, Mr. Peabody said you could have this, so here you are. As he mentioned, he'll be back tomorrow if you need to consult with him any more or if you'd like to do some more research at the Society.
She hands them the piece of paper. On it is a short article:
Arkham Advertiser wrote:Bishop's Bridge Burns
The covered bridge that once crossed the
Miskatonic four miles upriver is no more. In the last
week's thunderstorms, the aging structure was struck
by lightning which burned the roof and most of the
decking and timbers.
Thought to have been built around 1750, only the
central stone support and the approaches now exist. The
Sheriff has closed the road.
Originally Bowen's Bridge, after the prosperous
farmer who built it, folks later began calling it Bishop's
Bridge.
Locals say that the bridge has attracted lightning
strikes. The structure had lately grown so decrepit that
the County closed it to horses and wagons.
There is visible from the south side of the river a
symbol decorating the stone of the still-standing central
support, of unknown meaning and origin.
Little needed these days, the bridge probably will not
be rebuilt.
EMINENT ARKHAMITES
A Continuing Series by E.
Lapham Peabody
Sermon Bishop, Wizard
In the mid-18th century, Sermon Bishop was rumored
a witch and thought to be responsible for misfortunes
suffered by farmers west of Arkham. Other, darker words
were whispered of him, but never aloud.
Elihu Phillips, a neighbor, frequently argued with
Bishop. When Phillips' daughter was born with a twisted
leg, the farmers were sure Bishop was responsible. One
night, as Bishop returned from a visit to Dunwich, Phillips
and six other men captured him and bound him, and hung
with a magical sigil round his head.
Bishop, they said, had used a terrible book to treat
with a great demon, dealings that left the wizard's body
bent and crippled. In compensation, Bishop could not die.
Rendered helpless by the sigil, the seven carried
Bishop north to the Miskatonic, and there cemented him
into the hollow of a stone bridge support while the bridge
was under construction. They marked the stone support
with the same sign which bound Bishop, hoping thereby
to imprison the wizard forever.
Although the wizard's seven enemies were among
those the sheriff questioned, no one was ever charged.
The wooden roof and walls of the bridge fell into
disrepair in the later 19th century. In 1901 a powerful
lightning bolt struck and burned both spans, and the
bridge was never rebuilt. Only the foundations and the
central support remain, a few miles west of town. The
sign, as folks indicate, is chiselled into the stone of the
central support, and can be seen today, keeping us all
safe from this wizard!
My particular thanks to Mrs. Nina Williams Hope of
Arkham, who supplied information important to my tale.
the detestable pounding and piping whereunto dance slowly, awkwardly, and absurdly the gigantic, tenebrous ultimate gods the blind, voiceless, mindless gargoyles whose soul is Nyarlathotep.
