As I went, I made
out the dim forms of many of the other lurking Horrors that peopled
those supreme heights. Gradually, I neared the House, and my thoughts flashed back across the
abyss of years. I remembered the dread Specter of the Place. A short
while passed, and I saw that I was being wafted directly toward the
enormous mass of that silent building. About this time, I became aware, in an indifferent sort of way, of a
growing sense of numbness, that robbed me of the fear, which I should
otherwise have felt, on approaching that awesome Pile. As it was, I
viewed it, calmly--much as a man views calamity through the haze of his
tobacco smoke. In a little while, I had come so close to the House, as to be able to
distinguish many of the details about it. The longer I looked, the more
was I confirmed in my long-ago impressions of its entire similitude to
this strange house. Save in its enormous size, I could find
nothing unlike. Suddenly, as I stared, a great feeling of amazement filled me. I had
come opposite to that part, where the outer door, leading into the
study, is situated. There, lying right across the threshold, lay a great
length of coping stone, identical--save in size and color--with the
piece I had dislodged in my fight with the Pit-creatures. I floated nearer, and my astonishment increased, as I noted that the
door was broken partly from its hinges, precisely in the manner that my
study door had been forced inward, by the assaults of the Swine-things. The sight started a train of thoughts, and I began to trace, dimly,
that the attack on this house, might have a far deeper significance than
I had, hitherto, imagined. I remembered how, long ago, in the old
earth-days, I had half suspected that, in some unexplainable manner,
this house, in which I live, was _en rapport_--to use a recognized
term--with that other tremendous structure, away in the midst of that
incomparable Plain. Now, however, it began to be borne upon me, that I had but vaguely
conceived what the realization of my suspicion meant. I began to
understand, with a more than human clearness, that the attack I had
repelled, was, in some extraordinary manner, connected with an attack
upon that strange edifice. With a curious inconsequence, my thoughts abruptly left the matter; to
dwell, wonderingly, upon the peculiar material, out of which the House
was constructed. It was--as I have mentioned, earlier--of a deep, green
color. Yet, now that I had come so close to it, I perceived that it
fluctuated at times, though slightly--glowing and fading, much as do the
fumes of phosphorus, when rubbed upon the hand, in the dark. Presently, my attention was distracted from this, by coming to the
great entrance. Here, for the first time, I was afraid; for, all in a
moment, the huge doors swung back, and I drifted in between them,
helplessly. Inside, all was blackness, impalpable. In an instant, I had
crossed the threshold, and the great doors closed, silently, shutting me
in that lightless place. For a while, I seemed to hang, motionless; suspended amid the darkness. Then, I became conscious that I was moving again; where, I could not
tell. Suddenly, far down beneath me, I seemed to hear a murmurous noise
of Swine-laughter. It sank away, and the succeeding silence appeared
clogged with horror. Then a door opened somewhere ahead; a white haze of light filtered
through, and I floated slowly into a room, that seemed strangely
familiar. All at once, there came a bewildering, screaming noise, that
deafened me. I saw a blurred vista of visions, flaming before my sight. My senses were dazed, through the space of an eternal moment. Then, my
power of seeing, came back to me. The dizzy, hazy feeling passed, and I
saw, clearly. _XXIII_

PEPPER

I was seated in my chair, back again in this old study. My glance
wandered 'round the room. For a minute, it had a strange, quivery
appearance--unreal and unsubstantial. This disappeared, and I saw that
nothing was altered in any way. I looked toward the end window--the
blind was up. I rose to my feet, shakily. As I did so, a slight noise, in the
direction of the door, attracted my attention. I glanced toward it. For
a short instant, it appeared to me that it was being closed, gently. I
stared, and saw that I must have been mistaken--it seemed closely shut. With a succession of efforts, I trod my way to the window, and looked
out. The sun was just rising, lighting up the tangled wilderness of
gardens. For, perhaps, a minute, I stood, and stared. I passed my hand,
confusedly, across my forehead. Presently, amid the chaos of my senses, a sudden thought came to me; I
turned, quickly, and called to Pepper. There was no answer, and I
stumbled across the room, in a quick access of fear. As I went, I tried
to frame his name; but my lips were numb. I reached the table, and
stooped down to him, with a catching at my heart. He was lying in the
shadow of the table, and I had not been able to see him, distinctly,
from the window. Now, as I stooped, I took my breath, shortly. There was
no Pepper; instead, I was reaching toward an elongated, little heap of
grey, ashlike dust.... I must have remained, in that half-stooped position, for some minutes. I was dazed--stunned. Pepper had really passed into the land of shadows. _XXIV_

THE FOOTSTEPS IN THE GARDEN

Pepper is dead! Even now, at times, I seem scarcely able to realize
that this is so. It is many weeks, since I came back from that strange
and terrible journey through space and time. Sometimes, in my sleep, I
dream about it, and go through, in imagination, the whole of that
fearsome happening. When I wake, my thoughts dwell upon it. That
Sun--those Suns, were they indeed the great Central Suns, 'round which
the whole universe, of the unknown heavens, revolves? Who shall say? And
the bright globules, floating forever in the light of the Green Sun! And
the Sea of Sleep on which they float! How unbelievable it all is. If it
were not for Pepper, I should, even after the many extraordinary things
that I have witnessed, be inclined to imagine that it was but a gigantic
dream. Then, there is that dreadful, dark nebula (with its multitudes of
red spheres) moving always within the shadow of the Dark Sun, sweeping
along on its stupendous orbit, wrapped eternally in gloom. And the faces
that peered out at me! God, do they, and does such a thing really
exist? ... There is still that little heap of grey ash, on my study
floor. I will not have it touched. At times, when I am calmer, I have wondered what became of the outer
planets of the Solar System. It has occurred to me, that they may have
broken loose from the sun's attraction, and whirled away into space. This is, of course, only a surmise. There are so many things, about
which I wonder. Now that I am writing, let me record that I am certain, there is
something horrible about to happen. Last night, a thing occurred, which
has filled me with an even greater terror, than did the Pit fear.