base of
the idol, which may have measured some eight feet in diameter. The lower
edge of this hole stood about six inches above the level of the pool,
and water ran out of it in a thin stream. Passing down this stream,
half swimming and half waddling, appeared that huge and ungainly reptile
which was the real object of the worship of the People of the Mist.

Great as were its length and bulk, the dwarf saw it but for a few
moments, so swift were its movements; then the creature vanished into
the deep waters, to reappear presently by the side of the dead priest,
who was now beginning to sink. Its horrible head rose upon the waters as
on that night when the woman had been thrown to it; it opened its huge
jaws, and, seizing the body of the man across the middle, it disappeared
beneath the foam. Otter watched the mouth of the hole, and not in vain;
for before he could have counted ten the monster was crawling through
it, bearing its prey into the cave.

Now once more the dwarf felt afraid, for the Snake, or rather the
crocodile, at close quarters was far more fearful than anything that his
imagination had portrayed. Keeping his place beneath the ledge, which,
except for the coldness of the water, he found himself able to do with
little fatigue or difficulty, Otter searched the walls of the pool,
seeking for some possible avenue of escape, since his ardour for
personal conflict with this reptile had evaporated. But search as he
would he could find nothing; the walls were full thirty feet high, and
sloped inwards, like the sides of an inverted funnel. Wherever the exits
from the pool might be, they were invisible; also, notwithstanding his
strength and skill, Otter did not dare to swim into the furious eddy to
look for them.

One thing he noticed, indeed: immediately above the entrance to the
crocodile's den, and some twenty feet from the level of the water, two
holes were pierced in the rock, six feet or so apart, each measuring
about twelve inches square. But these holes were not to be reached, and
even if reached they were too small to pass, so Otter thought no more of
them.

Now the cold was beginning to nip him, and he felt that if he stayed
where he was much longer he would become paralyzed by it, for it was fed
from the ice and snow above. Therefore, it would seem that there was but
one thing to do--to face the Water Dweller in his lair. To this, then,
Otter made up his mind, albeit with loathing and a doubtful hea