And by the way in which I do tell upon it, you shall know that I did
surely view it something from the side at this immediate time; for, in
truth, it was then that I did draw the nearer; and, moreover, I was the
more astonished at this viewing, than I had been to the front; for it
was so utter strange, and shapen so different from the Brute that did
hang in my memory. And a great time I did lie there upon my belly; and shaken by a fear of
the Beast; yet emboldened, as you may conceive, by having come to the
side; and being hopeful in my heart that I was very secure within so
great a shadow and the thick sheltering of the moss-bushes. And surely it was that I did creep more nigh, the while that I did look;
for presently I had a very plain seeing of the Great Monster; and did
know where I had gotten to, and thereby did acknowledge unto myself that
this was an utter foolishness; and like, for all that any might say, to
lead unto destruction. Yet, as all must know, there was the first fear,
and the ceasing of this fear, as I did wot that I was so little a thing
to heed out there in the shadows. And presently a gaining of courage,
and the prick of my Being that did crave to see clear this exceeding
Wonder. And so was I come close, more or less, having gone far upon my
hands and knees; yet sometimes to pause; but afterwards on again. Now by this nearness, I was the more truly able to perceive how that the
Bulk of the Watcher did rise up into the Night, like a Hill; and the
colour was mostly black, save and indeed where it did face to the red
shine of the Pit; and concerning this I have done telling. And so did I lie there, and stare a great while, parting a small hole in
the moss-bushes that I might spy through the same. And the thing was
squat there, and might have root within the earth, so it did seem to
mine imaginings, as I did stare with a dumb wonder. And there were
monstrous warts upon the thing, and indents and a mighty ruggedness and
lumpings; as it were that it did be pimpled with great boulders that
were inbred within that monstrous hide. And where the shine from the
Pit of Red Fire did strike upon these, they did stand out into the
darkness away from the skin, as you of this Age shall see mountains of
the moon catch a bright fire from the Sun, and show plain upon the night
of the moon. Now, as I have set down, I did lie there and look a great while; and it
came presently to me that there was unease within the Mighty Pyramid,
among the Millions; for I did feel the aether of the world to be
disturbed by their distress; and so had a knowing that they had a
cunning wareness concerning the place where I did hide among the
moss-bushes. And the thrilling in the night did bring a wisdom into my head; for, in
verity, as I have said, this was a foolish matter that I was upon. And I
gat a thought that the Watcher might have an awaredness of the trouble
of the Multitudes; and, indeed, for all that I did know, it had a full
knowledge of all my wandering; though concerning this, I did think
otherwise truly in my heart; as is a most human and proper way to make
comfortable the spirit, where Doubt can have no ease from Reason. And I made that I would go backwards to a good distance from the
Watcher, and go forward again upon my journeying, if but that I come
safe from so unwise an adventuring. And as I did begin to return, it was
to me as that all my senses were newly awake; for I had a sudden knowing
that I was within the atmosphere, should I not call it, of the Monster. And I gat an abrupt and horrid shaking of the spirit; for I did feel in
verity that my soul had come too anigh; and that the Beast had a sure
knowledge concerning me; yet did make to my destruction with no haste;
but after that way and fashion that did seem proper unto it. And this feeling you shall understand the better, maybe, when I do tell
that it was to me as that the air all about me was full of a quiet and
steadfast life and keen intelligence that I did believe to come forth
from the Watcher on every side; so that I did feel as one already within
the gaze of some Great and Evil Power. Yet, though I had a great terror upon me, I made no foolish haste; but
commanded my soul to courage, and put a guard upon my way of going, and
so made a very quiet journey for maybe two full miles; and afterwards
did allow myself something more of haste; for I was now grown easier in
my spirit; and felt apart from the spirit of the Great Watcher. And after a longer while, I did leave that hill of watchfulness to my
rear; and was gone onward into the night; yet, as may be known, with a
vague unease and trouble to my heart, and a swift and frequent turning
to learn surely that no Evil Thing came after me. For, as you may know,
I could nowise have forgetting, concerning that great quiet Life which
did seem to be living in all the air around that Mighty Bulk. For it had
been all about me in the night, as I have told, and I to feel that I had
been surely discovered! And thus shall you know how shaken was my
spirit, in verity. Now, presently, at the eighteenth hour of that day's travel, I ceased
from my journeying, that I might eat and drink; and I did sit a little
while, and looked back upon the strange and monstrous thing which I had
come beyond. And the great humped back and vast shoulders of the
Watching-Thing rose up into the night, black and cumbrous against the
red shine of the Pit. And thus, as you shall think, had that Brute
looked always unto the Mighty Pyramid, through Eternity, and did cease
not from watching, and was steadfast and silent and alone; and none did
understand. And after I had eat, and drunk some of the water, I went onward for a
full matter of six hours more; being minded to have no sleep until I had
put a great way between me and the Watcher. And in this part of my
journey did I come to The Place Where The Silent Ones Kill, as it was
named in the Maps. And I observed a very wondrous caution, and went away
from it a little, unto the North, where I did see at a distance the
shinings of fire-holes; the which did promise me warmth through my
slumber. And here you must know that the Place Where The Silent Ones Kill was an
utter bare place, where all did seem of rock, and no bush did seem to
grow thereon; so that a man might not come to any hiding; though, in
truth, there might be some hole here or there; yet was none shown in any
map within the Pyramid; neither did there seem to be any such to me, as
I did creep there among the moss-bushes to the Northward of the Place,
and look constant and fearful towards it; so that I should see quickly
whether any Silent One did move across all the grey quiet of that rocky
plain.