g. The sight was so unexpected, and, by reason of its intense
malignity, so appalling, that I was simply dumbfounded. I could do
nothing but stare at the Thing--paralysed and speechless. I made a
desperate effort to get back my self-possession; I strove with all my
might to reason with myself, to assure myself that this was the supreme
moment of my life, the moment I had so long and earnestly desired. But
it was in vain; I was terrified--helplessly, hopelessly terrified. The
eyes moved, they drew nearer and nearer to me, and as they did so they
became more and more hostile. I opened my mouth to shout for help, I
could feel my lungs bursting under the tension; not a sound came; and
then--then, as the eyes closed on me, and I could feel the cold, clammy
weight pressing me down, there rang out, loud and clear, in the keen and
cutting air of the spring evening, a whole choir of voices--the village
choral society.

I am not particularly fond of music--certainly not of village music,
however well trained it may be; but I can honestly affirm that, at that
moment, no sounds could have been more welcome to me than those old
folk-songs piped by the rustics, for the instant they commenced the
spell that so closely held me prisoner was broken, my faculties
returned, and reeling back out of the clutches of the hateful Thing, I
joyfully turned and fled.

I related my adventure to the Colonel, and he told me that the cave was
generally deemed to be the most haunted spot in the grounds, that no one
cared to venture there alone after dark.

"I have myself many times visited the cave at night--in the company of
others," he said, "and we have invariably experienced sensations of the
utmost horror and repulsion, though we have seen nothing. It must be a
devil."

I thought so, too, and exclaimed with some vehemence that the proper
course for him to pursue was to have the cave filled in or blasted. That
night I awoke at about one o'clock with the feeling very strong on me
that something was prowling about under my window. For some time I
fought against the impulse to get out of bed and look, but at last I
yielded. It was bright moonlight--every obstacle in the grounds stood
out with wonderful clearness--and directly beneath the window, peering
up at me, were the eyes--red, lurid, satanical. A dog barked, and they
vanished. I did not sleep again that night, not until the daylight
broke, when I had barely shut my eyes before I was aroused