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- Артур Конан Дойл
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- Tales of Terror and Mystery
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- Стр. 60/137
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Here
I
was
shut
up
for
the
night
with
the
ferocious
beast
.
My
own
instincts
,
to
say
nothing
of
the
words
of
the
plausible
villain
who
laid
this
trap
for
me
,
warned
me
that
the
animal
was
as
savage
as
its
master
.
How
could
I
stave
it
off
until
morning
?
The
door
was
hopeless
,
and
so
were
the
narrow
,
barred
windows
.
There
was
no
shelter
anywhere
in
the
bare
,
stone
-
flagged
room
.
To
cry
for
assistance
was
absurd
.
I
knew
that
this
den
was
an
outhouse
,
and
that
the
corridor
which
connected
it
with
the
house
was
at
least
a
hundred
feet
long
.
Besides
,
with
the
gale
thundering
outside
,
my
cries
were
not
likely
to
be
heard
.
I
had
only
my
own
courage
and
my
own
wits
to
trust
to
.
And
then
,
with
a
fresh
wave
of
horror
,
my
eyes
fell
upon
the
lantern
.
The
candle
had
burned
low
,
and
was
already
beginning
to
gutter
.
In
ten
minutes
it
would
be
out
.
I
had
only
ten
minutes
then
in
which
to
do
something
,
for
I
felt
that
if
I
were
once
left
in
the
dark
with
that
fearful
beast
I
should
be
incapable
of
action
.
The
very
thought
of
it
paralysed
me
.
I
cast
my
despairing
eyes
round
this
chamber
of
death
,
and
they
rested
upon
one
spot
which
seemed
to
promise
I
will
not
say
safety
,
but
less
immediate
and
imminent
danger
than
the
open
floor
.
I
have
said
that
the
cage
had
a
top
as
well
as
a
front
,
and
this
top
was
left
standing
when
the
front
was
wound
through
the
slot
in
the
wall
.
It
consisted
of
bars
at
a
few
inches
’
interval
,
with
stout
wire
netting
between
,
and
it
rested
upon
a
strong
stanchion
at
each
end
.
It
stood
now
as
a
great
barred
canopy
over
the
crouching
figure
in
the
corner
.
The
space
between
this
iron
shelf
and
the
roof
may
have
been
from
two
or
three
feet
.
If
I
could
only
get
up
there
,
squeezed
in
between
bars
and
ceiling
,
I
should
have
only
one
vulnerable
side
.
I
should
be
safe
from
below
,
from
behind
,
and
from
each
side
.
Only
on
the
open
face
of
it
could
I
be
attacked
.
There
,
it
is
true
,
I
had
no
protection
whatever
;
but
at
least
,
I
should
be
out
of
the
brute
’
s
path
when
he
began
to
pace
about
his
den
.
He
would
have
to
come
out
of
his
way
to
reach
me
.
It
was
now
or
never
,
for
if
once
the
light
were
out
it
would
be
impossible
.
With
a
gulp
in
my
throat
I
sprang
up
,
seized
the
iron
edge
of
the
top
,
and
swung
myself
panting
on
to
it
.
I
writhed
in
face
downwards
,
and
found
myself
looking
straight
into
the
terrible
eyes
and
yawning
jaws
of
the
cat
.
Its
fetid
breath
came
up
into
my
face
like
the
steam
from
some
foul
pot
.
It
appeared
,
however
,
to
be
rather
curious
than
angry
.
With
a
sleek
ripple
of
its
long
,
black
back
it
rose
,
stretched
itself
,
and
then
rearing
itself
on
its
hind
legs
,
with
one
forepaw
against
the
wall
,
it
raised
the
other
,
and
drew
its
claws
across
the
wire
meshes
beneath
me
.
One
sharp
,
white
hook
tore
through
my
trousers
—
for
I
may
mention
that
I
was
still
in
evening
dress
—
and
dug
a
furrow
in
my
knee
.
It
was
not
meant
as
an
attack
,
but
rather
as
an
experiment
,
for
upon
my
giving
a
sharp
cry
of
pain
he
dropped
down
again
,
and
springing
lightly
into
the
room
,
he
began
walking
swiftly
round
it
,
looking
up
every
now
and
again
in
my
direction
.
For
my
part
I
shuffled
backwards
until
I
lay
with
my
back
against
the
wall
,
screwing
myself
into
the
smallest
space
possible
.
The
farther
I
got
the
more
difficult
it
was
for
him
to
attack
me
.
He
seemed
more
excited
now
that
he
had
begun
to
move
about
,
and
he
ran
swiftly
and
noiselessly
round
and
round
the
den
,
passing
continually
underneath
the
iron
couch
upon
which
I
lay
.
It
was
wonderful
to
see
so
great
a
bulk
passing
like
a
shadow
,
with
hardly
the
softest
thudding
of
velvety
pads
.
The
candle
was
burning
low
—
so
low
that
I
could
hardly
see
the
creature
.
And
then
,
with
a
last
flare
and
splutter
it
went
out
altogether
.
I
was
alone
with
the
cat
in
the
dark
!
It
helps
one
to
face
a
danger
when
one
knows
that
one
has
done
all
that
possibly
can
be
done
.
There
is
nothing
for
it
then
but
to
quietly
await
the
result
.
In
this
case
,
there
was
no
chance
of
safety
anywhere
except
the
precise
spot
where
I
was
.
I
stretched
myself
out
,
therefore
,
and
lay
silently
,
almost
breathlessly
,
hoping
that
the
beast
might
forget
my
presence
if
I
did
nothing
to
remind
him
.
I
reckoned
that
it
must
already
be
two
o
’
clock
.
At
four
it
would
be
full
dawn
.
I
had
not
more
than
two
hours
to
wait
for
daylight
.
Outside
,
the
storm
was
still
raging
,
and
the
rain
lashed
continually
against
the
little
windows
.
Inside
,
the
poisonous
and
fetid
air
was
overpowering
.
I
could
neither
hear
nor
see
the
cat
.
I
tried
to
think
about
other
things
—
but
only
one
had
power
enough
to
draw
my
mind
from
my
terrible
position
.
That
was
the
contemplation
of
my
cousin
’
s
villainy
,
his
unparalleled
hypocrisy
,
his
malignant
hatred
of
me
.
Beneath
that
cheerful
face
there
lurked
the
spirit
of
a
mediaeval
assassin
.
And
as
I
thought
of
it
I
saw
more
clearly
how
cunningly
the
thing
had
been
arranged
.
He
had
apparently
gone
to
bed
with
the
others
.
No
doubt
he
had
his
witness
to
prove
it
.
Then
,
unknown
to
them
,
he
had
slipped
down
,
had
lured
me
into
his
den
and
abandoned
me
.
His
story
would
be
so
simple
.
He
had
left
me
to
finish
my
cigar
in
the
billiard
-
room
.
I
had
gone
down
on
my
own
account
to
have
a
last
look
at
the
cat
.
I
had
entered
the
room
without
observing
that
the
cage
was
opened
,
and
I
had
been
caught
.
How
could
such
a
crime
be
brought
home
to
him
?
Suspicion
,
perhaps
—
but
proof
,
never
!
