could feel the air upon my face. I thought I must have been moved
out of doors by some magic. It seemed as if I were sitting under
trees alone. Out of the black silence an icy hand fell suddenly
upon my brow. I flinched, feeling it move slowly downward over my
shoulder. I could hear no breathing, no rustle of garments near
me. In that dead silence I got a feeling that the hand touching me
had no body behind it. I was beyond the reach of fear--I was in a
way prepared for anything but the deep, heart-shaking horror that
sank under the cold, damp touch of those fingers. They laid hold
of my elbow firmly, lifting as if to indicate that I was to rise.
I did so, moving forward passively as it drew me on. To my
astonishment I was unable to hear my own footfall or that of my
conductor. I thought we were walking upon soft earth. Crossing
our path in front of me I could see, in the darkness, a gleaming
line. We moved slowly, standing still as our toes covered it.
Then suddenly a light flashed from before and below us. A cold
sweat came out upon me; I staggered back to strong hands that were
laid upon my shoulders, forcing me to the line again. By that
flash of light I could see that I was standing on the very brink of
some black abyss--indeed, my toes had crossed the edge of it. The
light came again, flickering and then settling into a steady glow.
The opening seemed to have a grassy bottom some ten feet below. In
front of me the soil bristled, on that lower level, with some black
and pointed plant: there was at least a score of them. As I
looked, I saw they were not plants, but a square of bayonets
thrust, points up, in the ground. A curse came out of my hot
mouth, and then a dozen voices mocked it, going fainter, like a
dying echo. I heard a whisper in my ear. A tall figure in a
winding-sheet, its face covered, was leaning over me.

"To hesitate is to die," it whispered. "Courage may save you."

Then a skeleton hand came out of the winding-sheet, pointing down
at the square of bristling bayonets. The figure put its mouth to
my ear.

"Jump!" it whispered, and the bare bones of the dead fingers
stirred impatiently.

Some seconds of a brief silence followed. I could hear them slowly
dripping out of eternity in the tick of a watch near me. I felt
the stare of many eyes invisible to me. A broad beam of bright
light shot through the gloom, resting full upon my face. I started
back upon the strong han