The House on the Borderland

  _XII_

  THE SUBTERRANEAN PIT

  Another week came and went, during which I spent a great deal of my timeabout the Pit mouth. I had come to the conclusion a few days earlier,that the arched hole, in the angle of the great rift, was the placethrough which the Swine-things had made their exit, from some unholyplace in the bowels of the world. How near the probable truth this went,I was to learn later.

  It may be easily understood, that I was tremendously curious, though ina frightened way, to know to what infernal place that hole led; though,so far, the idea had not struck me, seriously, of making aninvestigation. I was far too much imbued with a sense of horror of theSwine-creatures, to think of venturing, willingly, where there was anychance of coming into contact with them.

  Gradually, however, as time passed, this feeling grew insensibly less;so that when, a few days later, the thought occurred to me that it mightbe possible to clamber down and have a look into the hole, I was not soexceedingly averse to it, as might have been imagined. Still, I do notthink, even then, that I really intended to try any such foolhardyadventure. For all that I could tell, it might be certain death, toenter that doleful looking opening. And yet, such is the pertinacity ofhuman curiosity, that, at last, my chief desire was but to discover whatlay beyond that gloomy entrance.

  Slowly, as the days slid by, my fear of the Swine-things became anemotion of the past--more an unpleasant, incredible memory, thanaught else.

  Thus, a day came, when, throwing thoughts and fancies adrift, Iprocured a rope from the house, and, having made it fast to a stouttree, at the top of the rift, and some little distance back from the Pitedge, let the other end down into the cleft, until it dangled rightacross the mouth of the dark hole.

  Then, cautiously, and with many misgivings as to whether it was not amad act that I was attempting, I climbed slowly down, using the rope asa support, until I reached the hole. Here, still holding on to the rope,I stood, and peered in. All was perfectly dark, and not a sound came tome. Yet, a moment later, it seemed that I could hear something. I heldmy breath, and listened; but all was silent as the grave, and I breathedfreely once more. At the same instant, I heard the sound again. It waslike a noise of labored breathing--deep and sharp-drawn. For a shortsecond, I stood, petrified; not able to move. But now the sounds hadceased again, and I could hear nothing.

  As I stood there, anxiously, my foot dislodged a pebble, which fellinward, into the dark, with a hollow chink. At once, the noise was takenup and repeated a score of times; each succeeding echo being fainter,and seeming to travel away from me, as though into remote distance.Then, as the silence fell again, I heard that stealthy breathing. Foreach respiration I made, I could hear an answering breath. The soundsappeared to be coming nearer; and then, I heard several others; butfainter and more distant. Why I did not grip the rope, and spring up outof danger, I cannot say. It was as though I had been paralyzed. I brokeout into a profuse sweat, and tried to moisten my lips with my tongue.My throat had gone suddenly dry, and I coughed, huskily. It came back tome, in a dozen, horrible, throaty tones, mockingly. I peered,helplessly, into the gloom; but still nothing showed. I had a strange,choky sensation, and again I coughed, dryly. Again the echo took it up,rising and falling, grotesquely, and dying slowly into amuffled silence.

  Then, suddenly, a thought came to me, and I held my breath. The otherbreathing stopped. I breathed again, and, once more, it re-commenced.But now, I no longer feared. I knew that the strange sounds were notmade by any lurking Swine-creature; but were simply the echo of my ownrespirations.

  Yet, I had received such a fright, that I was glad to scramble up therift, and haul up the rope. I was far too shaken and nervous to think ofentering that dark hole then, and so returned to the house. I felt moremyself next morning; but even then, I could not summon up sufficientcourage to explore the place.

  All this time, the water in the Pit had been creeping slowly up, andnow stood but a little below the opening. At the rate at which it wasrising, it would be level with the floor in less than another week; andI realized that, unless I carried out my investigations soon, I shouldprobably never do so at all; as the water would rise and rise, until theopening, itself, was submerged.

  It may have been that this thought stirred me to act; but, whatever itwas, a couple of days later, saw me standing at the top of the cleft,fully equipped for the task.

  This time, I was resolved to conquer my shirking, and go right throughwith the matter. With this intention, I had brought, in addition to therope, a bundle of candles, meaning to use them as a torch; also mydouble-barreled shotgun. In my belt, I had a heavy horse-pistol, loadedwith buckshot.

  As before, I fastened the rope to the tree. Then, having tied my gunacross my shoulders, with a piece of stout cord, I lowered myself overthe edge of the Pit. At this movement, Pepper, who had been eyeing myactions, watchfully, rose to his feet, and ran to me, with a half bark,half wail, it seemed to me, of warning. But I was resolved on myenterprise, and bade him lie down. I would much have liked to take himwith me; but this was next to impossible, in the existing circumstances.As my face dropped level with the Pit edge, he licked me, right acrossthe mouth; and then, seizing my sleeve between his teeth, began to pullback, strongly. It was very evident that he did not want me to go. Yet,having made up my mind, I had no intention of giving up the attempt;and, with a sharp word to Pepper, to release me, I continued my descent,leaving the poor old fellow at the top, barking and crying like aforsaken pup.

  Carefully, I lowered myself from projection to projection. I knew thata slip might mean a wetting.

  Reaching the entrance, I let go the rope, and untied the gun from myshoulders. Then, with a last look at the sky--which I noticed wasclouding over, rapidly--I went forward a couple of paces, so as to beshielded from the wind, and lit one of the candles. Holding it above myhead, and grasping my gun, firmly, I began to move on, slowly, throwingmy glances in all directions.

  For the first minute, I could hear the melancholy sound of Pepper'showling, coming down to me. Gradually, as I penetrated further into thedarkness, it grew fainter; until, in a little while, I could hearnothing. The path tended downward somewhat, and to the left. Thence itkept on, still running to the left, until I found that it was leading meright in the direction of the house.

  Very cautiously, I moved onward, stopping, every few steps, to listen.I had gone, perhaps, a hundred yards, when, suddenly, it seemed to methat I caught a faint sound, somewhere along the passage behind. With myheart thudding heavily, I listened. The noise grew plainer, and appearedto be approaching, rapidly. I could hear it distinctly, now. It was thesoft padding of running feet. In the first moments of fright, I stood,irresolute; not knowing whether to go forward or backward. Then, with asudden realization of the best thing to do, I backed up to the rockywall on my right, and, holding the candle above my head, waited--gun inhand--cursing my foolhardy curiosity, for bringing me into sucha strait.

  I had not long to wait, but a few seconds, before two eyes reflectedback from the gloom, the rays of my candle. I raised my gun, using myright hand only, and aimed quickly. Even as I did so, something leaptout of the darkness, with a blustering bark of joy that woke the echoes,like thunder. It was Pepper. How he had contrived to scramble down thecleft, I could not conceive. As I brushed my hand, nervously, over hiscoat, I noticed that he was dripping; and concluded that he must havetried to follow me, and fallen into the water; from which he would notfind it very difficult to climb.

  Having waited a minute, or so, to steady myself, I proceeded along theway, Pepper following, quietly. I was curiously glad to have the oldfellow with me. He was company, and, somehow, with him at my heels, Iwas less afraid. Also, I knew how quickly his keen ears would detect thepresence of any unwelcome creature, should there be such, amid thedarkness that wrapped us.

  For some minutes we went slowly along; the path still leading straighttoward the house. Soon, I concluded, we should be standing right beneathit, did the path but carry far
enough. I led the way, cautiously, foranother fifty yards, or so. Then, I stopped, and held the light high;and reason enough I had to be thankful that I did so; for there, notthree paces forward, the path vanished, and, in place, showed a hollowblackness, that sent sudden fear through me.

  Very cautiously, I crept forward, and peered down; but could seenothing. Then, I crossed to the left of the passage, to see whetherthere might be any continuation of the path. Here, right against thewall, I found that a narrow track, some three feet wide, led onward.Carefully, I stepped on to it; but had not gone far, before I regrettedventuring thereon. For, after a few paces, the already narrow way,resolved itself into a mere ledge, with, on the one side the solid,unyielding rock, towering up, in a great wall, to the unseen roof, and,on the other, that yawning chasm. I could not help reflecting howhelpless I was, should I be attacked there, with no room to turn, andwhere even the recoil of my weapon might be sufficient to drive meheadlong into the depths below.

  To my great relief, a little further on, the track suddenly broadenedout again to its original breadth. Gradually, as I went onward, Inoticed that the path trended steadily to the right, and so, after someminutes, I discovered that I was not going forward; but simply circlingthe huge abyss. I had, evidently, come to the end of the great passage.

  Five minutes later, I stood on the spot from which I had started;having been completely 'round, what I guessed now to be a vast pit, themouth of which must be at least a hundred yards across.

  For some little time, I stood there, lost in perplexing thought. 'Whatdoes it all mean?' was the cry that had begun to reiterate throughmy brain.

  A sudden idea struck me, and I searched 'round for a piece of stone.Presently, I found a bit of rock, about the size of a small loaf.Sticking the candle upright in a crevice of the floor, I went back fromthe edge, somewhat, and, taking a short run, launched the stone forwardinto the chasm--my idea being to throw it far enough to keep it clear ofthe sides. Then, I stooped forward, and listened; but, though I keptperfectly quiet, for at least a full minute, no sound came back to mefrom out of the dark.

  I knew, then, that the depth of the hole must be immense; for thestone, had it struck anything, was large enough to have set the echoesof that weird place, whispering for an indefinite period. Even as itwas, the cavern had given back the sounds of my footfalls,multitudinously. The place was awesome, and I would willingly haveretraced my steps, and left the mysteries of its solitudes unsolved;only, to do so, meant admitting defeat.

  Then, a thought came, to try to get a view of the abyss. It occurred tome that, if I placed my candles 'round the edge of the hole, I should beable to get, at least, some dim sight of the place.

  I found, on counting, that I had brought fifteen candles, in thebundle--my first intention having been, as I have already said, to makea torch of the lot. These, I proceeded to place 'round the Pit mouth,with an interval of about twenty yards between each.

  Having completed the circle, I stood in the passage, and endeavored toget an idea of how the place looked. But I discovered, immediately, thatthey were totally insufficient for my purpose. They did little more thanmake the gloom visible. One thing they did, however, and that was, theyconfirmed my opinion of the size of the opening; and, although theyshowed me nothing that I wanted to see; yet the contrast they affordedto the heavy darkness, pleased me, curiously. It was as though fifteentiny stars shone through the subterranean night.

  Then, even as I stood, Pepper gave a sudden howl, that was taken up bythe echoes, and repeated with ghastly variations, dying away, slowly.With a quick movement, I held aloft the one candle that I had kept, andglanced down at the dog; at the same moment, I seemed to hear a noise,like a diabolical chuckle, rise up from the hitherto, silent depths ofthe Pit. I started; then, I recollected that it was, probably, the echoof Pepper's howl.

  Pepper had moved away from me, up the passage, a few steps; he wasnosing along the rocky floor; and I thought I heard him lapping. I wenttoward him, holding the candle low. As I moved, I heard my boot go sop,sop; and the light was reflected from something that glistened, andcrept past my feet, swiftly toward the Pit. I bent lower, and looked;then gave vent to an expression of surprise. From somewhere, higher upthe path, a stream of water was running quickly in the direction of thegreat opening, and growing in size every second.

  Again, Pepper gave vent to that deep-drawn howl, and, running at me,seized my coat, and attempted to drag me up the path toward theentrance. With a nervous gesture, I shook him off, and crossed quicklyover to the left-hand wall. If anything were coming, I was going to havethe wall at my back.

  Then, as I stared anxiously up the pathway, my candle caught a gleam,far up the passage. At the same moment, I became conscious of amurmurous roar, that grew louder, and filled the whole cavern withdeafening sound. From the Pit, came a deep, hollow echo, like the sob ofa giant. Then, I had sprung to one side, on to the narrow ledge that ran'round the abyss, and, turning, saw a great wall of foam sweep past me,and leap tumultuously into the waiting chasm. A cloud of spray burstover me, extinguishing my candle, and wetting me to the skin. I stillheld my gun. The three nearest candles went out; but the further onesgave only a short flicker. After the first rush, the flow of water easeddown to a steady stream, maybe a foot in depth; though I could not seethis, until I had procured one of the lighted candles, and, with it,started to reconnoiter. Pepper had, fortunately, followed me as I leaptfor the ledge, and now, very much subdued, kept close behind.

  A short examination showed me that the water reached right across thepassage, and was running at a tremendous rate. Already, even as I stoodthere, it had deepened. I could make only a guess at what had happened.Evidently, the water in the ravine had broken into the passage, by somemeans. If that were the case, it would go on increasing in volume, untilI should find it impossible to leave the place. The thought wasfrightening. It was evident that I must make my exit as hurriedlyas possible.

  Taking my gun by the stock, I sounded the water. It was a little underknee-deep. The noise it made, plunging down into the Pit, was deafening.Then, with a call to Pepper, I stepped out into the flood, using the gunas a staff. Instantly, the water boiled up over my knees, and nearly tothe tops of my thighs, with the speed at which it was racing. For oneshort moment, I nearly lost my footing; but the thought of what laybehind, stimulated me to a fierce endeavor, and, step-by-step, Imade headway.

  Of Pepper, I knew nothing at first. I had all I could do to keep on mylegs; and was overjoyed, when he appeared beside me. He was wadingmanfully along. He is a big dog, with longish thin legs, and I supposethe water had less grasp on them, than upon mine. Anyway, he managed agreat deal better than I did; going ahead of me, like a guide, andwittingly--or otherwise--helping, somewhat, to break the force of thewater. On we went, step by step, struggling and gasping, until somewhereabout a hundred yards had been safely traversed. Then, whether it wasbecause I was taking less care, or that there was a slippery place onthe rocky floor, I cannot say; but, suddenly, I slipped, and fell on myface. Instantly, the water leapt over me in a cataract, hurling me down,toward that bottomless hole, at a frightful speed. Frantically Istruggled; but it was impossible to get a footing. I was helpless,gasping and drowning. All at once, something gripped my coat, andbrought me to a standstill. It was Pepper. Missing me, he must haveraced back, through the dark turmoil, to find me, and then caught, andheld me, until I was able to get to my feet.

  I have a dim recollection of having seen, momentarily, the gleams ofseveral lights; but, of this, I have never been quite sure. If myimpressions are correct, I must have been washed down to the very brinkof that awful chasm, before Pepper managed to bring me to a standstill.And the lights, of course, could only have been the distant flames ofthe candles, I had left burning. But, as I have said, I am not by anymeans sure. My eyes were full of water, and I had been badly shaken.

  And there was I, without my helpful gun, without light, and sadlyconfused, with the water deepening; depending solely upon my o
ld friendPepper, to help me out of that hellish place.

  I was facing the torrent. Naturally, it was the only way in which Icould have sustained my position a moment; for even old Pepper could nothave held me long against that terrific strain, without assistance,however blind, from me.

  Perhaps a minute passed, during which it was touch and go with me;then, gradually I re-commenced my tortuous way up the passage. And sobegan the grimmest fight with death, from which ever I hope to emergevictorious. Slowly, furiously, almost hopelessly, I strove; and thatfaithful Pepper led me, dragged me, upward and onward, until, at last,ahead I saw a gleam of blessed light. It was the entrance. Only a fewyards further, and I reached the opening, with the water surging andboiling hungrily around my loins.

  And now I understood the cause of the catastrophe. It was rainingheavily, literally in torrents. The surface of the lake was level withthe bottom of the opening--nay! more than level, it was above it.Evidently, the rain had swollen the lake, and caused this prematurerise; for, at the rate the ravine had been filling, it would not havereached the entrance for a couple more days.

  Luckily, the rope by which I had descended, was streaming into theopening, upon the inrushing waters. Seizing the end, I knotted itsecurely 'round Pepper's body, then, summoning up the last remnant of mystrength, I commenced to swarm up the side of the cliff. I reached thePit edge, in the last stage of exhaustion. Yet, I had to make one moreeffort, and haul Pepper into safety.

  Slowly and wearily, I hauled on the rope. Once or twice, it seemed thatI should have to give up; for Pepper is a weighty dog, and I was utterlydone. Yet, to let go, would have meant certain death to the old fellow,and the thought spurred me to greater exertions. I have but a very hazyremembrance of the end. I recall pulling, through moments that laggedstrangely. I have also some recollection of seeing Pepper's muzzle,appearing over the Pit edge, after what seemed an indefinite period oftime. Then, all grew suddenly dark.