Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-04-27
THE PEOPLE
OF THE MIST
By H. RIDER HgGGARD.
copyright, 1893, by the Author.]
[coNTrNUED.l
CHAPTER XIII.

hteplHy ftiHlStll unQer inc
overshadowing ledge OF the rock bank and
holding his double bladed knife ready in
one hand, Otter swan to the mouth of the
snakes den. As he approached it he per-
ceiyed by tho great upward force of the
water that the real body of the stream en-
tered the pool from below, the hole where
the crocodile lived being but supplement
t;ry exit, which doubtless the river fol-
lowed in times of flood.
He reached the month of the tunnel
without any great difficulty, and watch
ing his opportunity lifted himself on his
hands and slipped through it quickly, for
he did not desire to be seen by those who
were gathered above. Nor indeed was he
seen, for his rcd fringe and the goatskin
cloak had been washed away or cast off in
the pool, and in that light his black body
made little show against the black rock
beneath
Now he was inside the hole and found
himself Crouching upon a bed of sand or
rather disintegrutcd rock, brought down
By the waters The gloom Of the place was
great, but the light of the white dawn,
which had turned to red, was gathering
swiftly eli the surface OF the pool without
as the mist melted and was reflected
thence into the tunnel So it came about
that very soon Otter, who had the gift,
not uncommon among savages, of seeing
in anything short OF absolute darkness,
was able to make out his surroundings
with tolerablc accuracy. The place in the
corner of which be squatted was a cave of
no great height or width, followed in the
solid rock by the force of water as smooth
" as though it had been hewn through it
by the hand of man--in short, an enor-
nous natural drain pipe but constructed
of rock instead of carthenware In the
bottom Of this drain trickled stream of
| water nowhere more than six inches in
depth, on either side of which, for ten feet
or more, lay Il thick bed of debris, ground
| small. How far the cave stretched, of
course, lie could not sec, nor as yet could
he discover the whereabouts of its hideous
occupant, though traces of its presence
were plentiful, for the sandy floor was
marked with its huge footprints, and the
air reeked with an abominablc stink
Now, where has this evil spirit gomez
thought Otter. He must be near, and yet
can see nothing of him. Perhaps he
lives farther up the cave, and he crept
pace or two forward and again peered into
the gloom.
Now he perceived what hitherto escaped
him-namoly, that some eight yards from
the mouth Of the tunnel a table shaped
fragment of stone rose from its Goor to
within six feet of the roof, having on its
hithcr side sloping plano that connected
its summit with the stream bed beneath
| Doubtless this fragment, or bowlder, b ing
of some harder material than the surround
ing rock, had resisted the wear of. the
rushing river, the top of it, as was shown
by the high water marks on the sides of
| hpinfr n kp 0f top.
rent, which, although it was now repre-
Gcnted only by a riyulet, evidently at Ger
ain seasons of the year poured down with
,reat force and volume.
" Here is Il bed On which crocodile
| might Sleep thought Otter, creeping n
little farther forward and staring at the
mass of rock, and more especially at a tri-
angular shaped object that was poised on
the top of the sloping plane and on some
thing which lay beneath it. Now, if that
thing be another stone, - thought Otter
again, how comes it that it does not slip
into the water as it should do, and what is
that upon which it restsf'' and he took
step to one side to prevent his body from
intercepting any portion of the ray Of light
that momentarily shone clearer and pierced
the darkness of the cave to greater dis
lance.
Then he looked again and almost fell In
his horror, for now he could sec all. The
| thing that he had taken for stone set
| upon the rock table was the head sof the
dweller in the waters, for there in it two
dreadful eyes CLEANED with a dull and
changing fire rs the light struck on them.
Moreover, he discovered what was the OBJ
ject which lay under the throat of the rep
tile. 1t was the body of that priest whom
1 IL. I.
the srat&, for he could see its face pro
jecting on one side.
Perhaps if | wait awhile he will begin
to eat him, reflected the dwarf, remem-
bering the habits of crocodiles, land then
can attack him when he rests and sleeps
afterward." And acting on the thought
he stood still, watching the green fire as it
throbbed and quiveTed, waxed and waned
in the monsters eyes.
How long lie remained thus Otter never
know. AT least after a time he became
conscious that the eyes had taken hold Of
him and were drawing him toward them,
though whether the reptile saw him or
not he could not tell. For a space he
struggled against this unholy fascination
| Then, overcome by dread, he strove to fly
back to the pool or anywhere out Of reach
of those deyiish orbs. Alas it was too
late. No stop could he move backward
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