The night between April 30 and May 1 may not have been a Walpurgis with witches on broom sticks, but other strange things were aloft. At some point during the late evening, the three amigos were startled to hear a shotgun being fired inside the Mitscher Ranch. They found a frightened but determined Nurse Agatha Pettenkoffer with a smoking shotgun aimed at a shattered rear window: "It looked like a big bird of some sorts, but the angles were all wrong, and the wings seemed to be more like a bat's wings than an ordinary avian." Frank Cannon looked out of the window, his revolver aimed up towards the roof. "I fear they may be back, those Mee-Gos that were mentioned in that telegram from this Irwin Bowers fellow in New York." This was confirmed by a couple of the familiar, yet weird, triangular tracks or patterns that were found on the roof of the Mitscher Ranch.
Next morning was spent sketching on defensive plans, plans that included searchlights and flamethrowers. The amigos had already discovered that the Mi-Go were notoriously difficult to kill, and it required a disproportionate amount of firepower to dispatch of the hellish creatures. Many of the workers at the Ashford Mining Co. were sincerely worried or scared after hearing strange buzzing voices in the surrounding woods, and the accountant, the otherwise redoubtable Mrs. Eleonore Harrington, swore that she saw a pair of ominous shadows flying over the ranch at unnatural speed. However, May 2 provided a new set of problems for the three amigos in the Mitscher Ranch.
The boarding house of Louise “Ma” Shanks is located in Lincoln. It serves as a temporary home to two Mexican families, the Marquez family and the Benedicto family. The family members work as ranch hands, maids, cooks and general laborers in Lincoln and Carrazozo. The families live on the first and the second floor of the building. Ma Shanks lives on the first floor, and the top floor is occupied by Mr. James Gardiner, who arrived two months ago, and a young widow, Mrs. Madeira. James Gardiner has been working in the Lincoln general store, and he has been helping out with the bookkeeping.
Ma Shanks was concerned about Mr. Gardiner. He has not been seen for a couple of days, and he hasn’t been to work. Ma Shanks had heard that Frank Cannon is a former private eye, and she wants help and support, since Sheriff Magruder happened to be in Carrizozo together with his deputy. She saddled her trusty donkey "Buff" and took the short ride to the Mitscher Ranch, arriving just as Lotus Ashford stepped out on the front porch.
After having coffee and a lengthy conversation with Ma Shanks, it was decided that Lotus Ashford, Frank Cannon and Bill McCloud were to pay a visit to the boarding house. Gardiner was found dead, apparent following a ritualistic suicide after spending many months covering most of his body with small spirals, all carefully carved into the skin to form a pattern of spiral scars.
Gardiner had left notebooks and diaries, and he had apparently enjoyed remarkably vivid dreams, at times entering something he called "The Dreamlands" that he described in a "Dream Journal," which
indicated that Gardiner might have lost his ability to dream several months ago. They also found an old book that was written in ancient Greek, as well as two obsidian knives and the remnants of two black candles. The Three Amigos decided to save the book for Father Bose, who knew both Greek and Latin as well as Hebrew and Aramaic.
The Dream Journal also included a loose piece of paper, perhaps added as an afterthought or appendix: "Much of my research points towards the realm of Yeeg (not really sure of the spelling) being closest to the realm of dreams. This may be in the American southwest, or somewhere thereabouts. In any case, a change of pace from Philly might be good for me." The name of "Yeeg" was particularly disturbing to Ashford, Cannon and McCloud. They all recognized the similarity to the serpent deity, Yig, that was worshipped by the degenerate tribe that had inhabited Lincoln County and its surroundings before the arrival of the Apache.
Franck Cannon and Lotus Ashford went over to the young widow, Mrs. Madeira, while McCloud continued the investigation. As Frank and Lotus held a quiet conversation with Mrs. Madeira, Bill McCloud heard a stirring from the corpse of Gardiner. A dragging sound on the floor interrupted McCloud's investigation of the room. The mutilated body of the room’s tenant shifted its limbs and suddenly lurched to a standing position. McCloud looked on in terror as the flesh around Mr. Gardiner’s head began to peel, the flesh spiraling downward like some horrific party trick with an apple. The blood-slicked skull turned to look in the direction of the old book with malevolence in its lidless eyes. The spirals glowed with a profoundly disturbing blueish light, and this light seemed to protect the unholy being from the hail of gunfire that erupted in the apartment. It was only when Lotus Ashford realized that the head was unprotected that the creature could be destroyed, leaving an oozing puddle of ichor on the floor.
It was difficult, if not impossible to figure put what had happened, but the Three Amigos were hoping that Father Bose might shed some light on the matter. As they were discussing the events, a strange sound was heard in the early Spring evening. It was an aeroplane, a thing unheard of, and it was coming down to land. The aeroplane landed awkwardly north of Lincoln, and it seemed to be a mail carrier from Lockwood Airlines!
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