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- Артур Конан Дойл
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- Tales of Terror and Mystery
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- Стр. 45/137
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I
could
not
but
smile
at
this
,
knowing
,
as
I
do
,
the
strange
reverberations
which
come
out
of
an
underground
water
system
running
amid
the
chasms
of
a
limestone
formation
.
My
incredulity
annoyed
Armitage
so
that
he
turned
and
left
me
with
some
abruptness
.
And
now
comes
the
queer
point
about
the
whole
business
.
I
was
still
standing
near
the
mouth
of
the
cave
turning
over
in
my
mind
the
various
statements
of
Armitage
,
and
reflecting
how
readily
they
could
be
explained
away
,
when
suddenly
,
from
the
depth
of
the
tunnel
beside
me
,
there
issued
a
most
extraordinary
sound
.
How
shall
I
describe
it
?
First
of
all
,
it
seemed
to
be
a
great
distance
away
,
far
down
in
the
bowels
of
the
earth
.
Secondly
,
in
spite
of
this
suggestion
of
distance
,
it
was
very
loud
.
Lastly
,
it
was
not
a
boom
,
nor
a
crash
,
such
as
one
would
associate
with
falling
water
or
tumbling
rock
,
but
it
was
a
high
whine
,
tremulous
and
vibrating
,
almost
like
the
whinnying
of
a
horse
.
It
was
certainly
a
most
remarkable
experience
,
and
one
which
for
a
moment
,
I
must
admit
,
gave
a
new
significance
to
Armitage
’
s
words
.
I
waited
by
the
Blue
John
Gap
for
half
an
hour
or
more
,
but
there
was
no
return
of
the
sound
,
so
at
last
I
wandered
back
to
the
farmhouse
,
rather
mystified
by
what
had
occurred
.
Decidedly
I
shall
explore
that
cavern
when
my
strength
is
restored
.
Of
course
,
Armitage
’
s
explanation
is
too
absurd
for
discussion
,
and
yet
that
sound
was
certainly
very
strange
.
It
still
rings
in
my
ears
as
I
write
.
April
20
.
—
In
the
last
three
days
I
have
made
several
expeditions
to
the
Blue
John
Gap
,
and
have
even
penetrated
some
short
distance
,
but
my
bicycle
lantern
is
so
small
and
weak
that
I
dare
not
trust
myself
very
far
.
I
shall
do
the
thing
more
systematically
.
I
have
heard
no
sound
at
all
,
and
could
almost
believe
that
I
had
been
the
victim
of
some
hallucination
suggested
,
perhaps
,
by
Armitage
’
s
conversation
.
Of
course
,
the
whole
idea
is
absurd
,
and
yet
I
must
confess
that
those
bushes
at
the
entrance
of
the
cave
do
present
an
appearance
as
if
some
heavy
creature
had
forced
its
way
through
them
.
I
begin
to
be
keenly
interested
.
I
have
said
nothing
to
the
Miss
Allertons
,
for
they
are
quite
superstitious
enough
already
,
but
I
have
bought
some
candles
,
and
mean
to
investigate
for
myself
.
I
observed
this
morning
that
among
the
numerous
tufts
of
sheep
’
s
wool
which
lay
among
the
bushes
near
the
cavern
there
was
one
which
was
smeared
with
blood
.
Of
course
,
my
reason
tells
me
that
if
sheep
wander
into
such
rocky
places
they
are
likely
to
injure
themselves
,
and
yet
somehow
that
splash
of
crimson
gave
me
a
sudden
shock
,
and
for
a
moment
I
found
myself
shrinking
back
in
horror
from
the
old
Roman
arch
.
A
fetid
breath
seemed
to
ooze
from
the
black
depths
into
which
I
peered
.
Could
it
indeed
be
possible
that
some
nameless
thing
,
some
dreadful
presence
,
was
lurking
down
yonder
?
I
should
have
been
incapable
of
such
feelings
in
the
days
of
my
strength
,
but
one
grows
more
nervous
and
fanciful
when
one
’
s
health
is
shaken
.
For
the
moment
I
weakened
in
my
resolution
,
and
was
ready
to
leave
the
secret
of
the
old
mine
,
if
one
exists
,
for
ever
unsolved
.
But
tonight
my
interest
has
returned
and
my
nerves
grown
more
steady
.
Tomorrow
I
trust
that
I
shall
have
gone
more
deeply
into
this
matter
.
April
22
.
—
Let
me
try
and
set
down
as
accurately
as
I
can
my
extraordinary
experience
of
yesterday
.
I
started
in
the
afternoon
,
and
made
my
way
to
the
Blue
John
Gap
.
I
confess
that
my
misgivings
returned
as
I
gazed
into
its
depths
,
and
I
wished
that
I
had
brought
a
companion
to
share
my
exploration
.
Finally
,
with
a
return
of
resolution
,
I
lit
my
candle
,
pushed
my
way
through
the
briars
,
and
descended
into
the
rocky
shaft
.
It
went
down
at
an
acute
angle
for
some
fifty
feet
,
the
floor
being
covered
with
broken
stone
.
Thence
there
extended
a
long
,
straight
passage
cut
in
the
solid
rock
.
I
am
no
geologist
,
but
the
lining
of
this
corridor
was
certainly
of
some
harder
material
than
limestone
,
for
there
were
points
where
I
could
actually
see
the
tool
-
marks
which
the
old
miners
had
left
in
their
excavation
,
as
fresh
as
if
they
had
been
done
yesterday
.
Down
this
strange
,
old
-
world
corridor
I
stumbled
,
my
feeble
flame
throwing
a
dim
circle
of
light
around
me
,
which
made
the
shadows
beyond
the
more
threatening
and
obscure
.
Finally
,
I
came
to
a
spot
where
the
Roman
tunnel
opened
into
a
water
-
worn
cavern
—
a
huge
hall
,
hung
with
long
white
icicles
of
lime
deposit
.
From
this
central
chamber
I
could
dimly
perceive
that
a
number
of
passages
worn
by
the
subterranean
streams
wound
away
into
the
depths
of
the
earth
.
I
was
standing
there
wondering
whether
I
had
better
return
,
or
whether
I
dare
venture
farther
into
this
dangerous
labyrinth
,
when
my
eyes
fell
upon
something
at
my
feet
which
strongly
arrested
my
attention
.
The
greater
part
of
the
floor
of
the
cavern
was
covered
with
boulders
of
rock
or
with
hard
incrustations
of
lime
,
but
at
this
particular
point
there
had
been
a
drip
from
the
distant
roof
,
which
had
left
a
patch
of
soft
mud
.
In
the
very
centre
of
this
there
was
a
huge
mark
—
an
ill
-
defined
blotch
,
deep
,
broad
and
irregular
,
as
if
a
great
boulder
had
fallen
upon
it
.
No
loose
stone
lay
near
,
however
,
nor
was
there
anything
to
account
for
the
impression
.
It
was
far
too
large
to
be
caused
by
any
possible
animal
,
and
besides
,
there
was
only
the
one
,
and
the
patch
of
mud
was
of
such
a
size
that
no
reasonable
stride
could
have
covered
it
.
As
I
rose
from
the
examination
of
that
singular
mark
and
then
looked
round
into
the
black
shadows
which
hemmed
me
in
,
I
must
confess
that
I
felt
for
a
moment
a
most
unpleasant
sinking
of
my
heart
,
and
that
,
do
what
I
could
,
the
candle
trembled
in
my
outstretched
hand
.
