Read Online The Curious Quests of Brigadier Ffellowes by Sterling E. Lanier - Free Book Online
Authors: Sterling E. Lanier
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his warnings, I turned and looked back the other way. Here, the rock floor leveled off, as if we stood at the top of a slope; but here were no lights. Yet I had the feeling that the tunnel did not end near us at all but ran on for unguessable distances through the heart of the hills.
"Raising a finger to his lips, James led off down the gentle slope, his huge blade at the ready. I came behind in equal silence, listening as hard as I was able. Down here, out of the sound of the storm, the silence seemed muffled, but also echoing, so that the faint scuff of our feet rang abnormally loud in my ears. The faint throbbing beat we had heard on the surface had fallen silent as we had come down the ladder, but now it resumed again, louder and louder as we progressed. Then it halted once more, and the silence closed in upon us. We were now some few paces past the second lantern, still descending, and in the remote distance was the glowworm flicker of yet another light.
"All at once, on our left, there loomed up the opening of a huge passage, whose arch was far larger than the one we trod. We listened tensely, but I could hear nothing at first except the faint sound of dripping water some way off in the distance. Concentrating hard, I began to hear something else, or thought that I did. It was a sliding sound, as if something like wet hose were being dragged over a rock. It stopped, and I could only hear the drip of moisture again, but from James' taut face I fancied I had not been mistaken.
" 'If we go on,' he whispered, 'we will have things behind us as well as before. Be twice vigilant.' He turned and moved off again, with me still in his wake.
"As we reached the third of the lights, a distance I estimated of some hundred of yards, I began to be conscious of yet another sound. This was a faint roaring, more of a vibration to be felt, rather than something caught by one's ears. It was not loud, but constant, as if it were coming through the rocks all around us, and it, too, seemed to emanate from in front, the direction in which we were advancing. James heard it also and turned to face me.
" 'We are almost under the sea face,' he whispered in my ear. 'You hear the ocean as it strikes the cliff. There may be a chance still. I had hoped for this.'
"What he hoped for escaped me. This whole episode had taken on the quality of a waking dream in which I felt myself a spectator as well as an actor. I could do nothing except follow and await events, in some world of which I knew nothing, except that it, and James as well, had taken over control of my actions, shaping them to suit themselves.
"We had passed the last light long since, but now ahead of us we saw something new. The tunnel took a sharp bend to the right, and the rock floor no longer sloped at all. From around this bend came a lurid glare, far stronger than the lantern gleam. As we halted to watch, the throbbing boom we had first heard burst out once more, but this time far closer. If it were not some sort of drum, then I had never heard one.
"James motioned me on and led the way cautiously. As we approached, I saw the mouth of still another tunnel opening on our left, just before the bend. It had been hidden from us as we approached by a shallow buttress or stone, which thrust from the tunnel wall. We listened as before, but could hear nothing. But from its mouth came a vile reek, a stench of decay which turned the stomach. It was the awful smell which had so sickened the people at the Avalon House, and I felt sure this was its origin. We moved slowly past the hole and more slowly still to the turn of the passage. Reaching this, we halted and peered around it . I dropped to one knee, with James over me so that we offered as little
"Raising a finger to his lips, James led off down the gentle slope, his huge blade at the ready. I came behind in equal silence, listening as hard as I was able. Down here, out of the sound of the storm, the silence seemed muffled, but also echoing, so that the faint scuff of our feet rang abnormally loud in my ears. The faint throbbing beat we had heard on the surface had fallen silent as we had come down the ladder, but now it resumed again, louder and louder as we progressed. Then it halted once more, and the silence closed in upon us. We were now some few paces past the second lantern, still descending, and in the remote distance was the glowworm flicker of yet another light.
"All at once, on our left, there loomed up the opening of a huge passage, whose arch was far larger than the one we trod. We listened tensely, but I could hear nothing at first except the faint sound of dripping water some way off in the distance. Concentrating hard, I began to hear something else, or thought that I did. It was a sliding sound, as if something like wet hose were being dragged over a rock. It stopped, and I could only hear the drip of moisture again, but from James' taut face I fancied I had not been mistaken.
" 'If we go on,' he whispered, 'we will have things behind us as well as before. Be twice vigilant.' He turned and moved off again, with me still in his wake.
"As we reached the third of the lights, a distance I estimated of some hundred of yards, I began to be conscious of yet another sound. This was a faint roaring, more of a vibration to be felt, rather than something caught by one's ears. It was not loud, but constant, as if it were coming through the rocks all around us, and it, too, seemed to emanate from in front, the direction in which we were advancing. James heard it also and turned to face me.
" 'We are almost under the sea face,' he whispered in my ear. 'You hear the ocean as it strikes the cliff. There may be a chance still. I had hoped for this.'
"What he hoped for escaped me. This whole episode had taken on the quality of a waking dream in which I felt myself a spectator as well as an actor. I could do nothing except follow and await events, in some world of which I knew nothing, except that it, and James as well, had taken over control of my actions, shaping them to suit themselves.
"We had passed the last light long since, but now ahead of us we saw something new. The tunnel took a sharp bend to the right, and the rock floor no longer sloped at all. From around this bend came a lurid glare, far stronger than the lantern gleam. As we halted to watch, the throbbing boom we had first heard burst out once more, but this time far closer. If it were not some sort of drum, then I had never heard one.
"James motioned me on and led the way cautiously. As we approached, I saw the mouth of still another tunnel opening on our left, just before the bend. It had been hidden from us as we approached by a shallow buttress or stone, which thrust from the tunnel wall. We listened as before, but could hear nothing. But from its mouth came a vile reek, a stench of decay which turned the stomach. It was the awful smell which had so sickened the people at the Avalon House, and I felt sure this was its origin. We moved slowly past the hole and more slowly still to the turn of the passage. Reaching this, we halted and peered around it . I dropped to one knee, with James over me so that we offered as little
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