And I whispered how that I past this
place, to my right, upon mine upward way, and how that I did think
there to be a-plenty of monster caverns within the mountains that made
the sides of the Gorge, and that, mayhap, the Slug-Creatures had there
an home in such places, or came up, it might be, from some utter strange
deepness and mystery of the great world. And the Maid did bide very close unto me, and silent, whilst that I
whispered; for the terror of the place did be on her, yet not to make
her lacking of courage, but yet to put a monstrous awe upon her and a
great and natural fear; and I likewise, as you do know. And we stayed there, where we did be, a little moment, and looked
downward into the bowels of the monster cavern; and the shine of the
fire-hole beat over the cavern in the near part; but there did be an
utter mystery and deathly dark beyond the shining of the pit that did be
within, as you shall remember. And, in verity, as we stayed but to glance, I perceived that there lay
humped things about the fire, and some to be black-seeming, and some to
have a seeming of whiteness, but with no sureness in the colour to mine
eyes. And there came a moving in one of the humpt things, so that it did be as
that an hill did wake unto an horrid life. And immediately I knew that
the humps did be some utter monsters, mayhaps even the great Slugs,
a-slumber about the fire-pit that did burn in that strange deeply
cavern. And I saw that I did ill for our lives, that I should pause even
for a little moment to such staring. And immediately I whispered to Mine Own that we go with all our speed;
for, indeed, I knew not whether that our nearness had waked that
Monster, or whether that it had but waked by chance. And truly, I was
utter eager that we be gone from that place, so swift as we might. And we went on then through all of the sixth hour that we did be in the
Slug part of the Gorge, as I named it unto myself. And in all that hour,
there did nothing harmful come anigh; only, as I did know presently,
there came an unease upon our spirits, but yet to be very little at that
time, and we to be scarce knowing of it. And alway, as we went, there
did be darkness for the most, and odd-whiles a vague murmuring of the
night far above, as it did seem; and presently the dull glare of a
fire-pit to shine out far off below us in the Gorge, and to seem very
dim and unreal unto us, by reason of the smokes and the fumes that made
a haze and a distaste in the Gorge. And presently, the murmuring of the night to grow somewhat, and,
afterward, the sound of the muttering of the fire-pit to come unto us;
and the murmuring to die unto our ears that did be hearing now only the
dull muttering, and so we to know that the murmuring of the night did be
truly the far-off muttering of the fire-holes, and our eyes to guide our
hearing, and our reason to explain and knit the sounds; and so we to
pass by the fire-hole with a great quiet and caution and ever with
watchfulness, as you shall suppose. And afterward again into the dark;
and presently again the murmuring, to tell that we came unto another of
the fire-pits, that was yet afar off in the Gorge, and made dim echoes
in the night. And alway we went very watchful, and in grim fear; but with
steadfastness and good intention to win forth out of that desolation and
horror, and having alway so great a speed as the darkness and the
dangers and the trouble of the way did allow. And in this place I will make explanation why that I speak somewhiles of
fire-pits and otherwhiles of fire-holes; for the holes did be those
fires that burned nigh to the brim of the holes; but the pits were those
places where the fire was deeply in the earth. And this thing I give for
your enlightenment, even on a small matter; so that you shall have a
clear knowledge to abide with me all the way; and you to agree of this
for wisdom, and I to be pleased that you so agree. And here also, I should tell that there did not come a muttering from
all of the fire-holes and the fire-pits; but mayhap from this one, and
mayhap not from that one, according to the way of the fire therein. And
this shall be plain unto you. And so shall you see us go, and the smoke and the bitterness of the
sulphur to be all about us; and oddwhiles the murmuring of a far-off
pit, and oft the utter silence; and to pass this time a lonesome
fire-hole; and afterward the utter dark, or the half-gloom, all as might
chance, according to the nearness of the fires. And upward in the
everlasting night, the grim mountains to make a roof over us, as I did
suppose. And all this while did the unease, of which I have told, make upon us;
so that, presently, Mine Own whispered unto me the thing that already my
spirit did half to perceive, that there came after us through the night
some harmful thing, that did be surely no great way off, as I did feel
within me, and the Maid to have a likeways belief. And, truly I thought at once upon that Brute that did wake downward in
the mighty Cavern, where did be the great inward fire-hole, as I have
told; but whether this did be true knowledge that we did be chased in
the dark by that thing, or whether there came after us some other
Monster, I could have no sureness; but only that we did be chased, and
of this I had assuredness. And I set the Maid before me, that I have myself ready to the danger
that followed; and we made forward again then, so quick as we were
abled; and she went very wisely; for she had good wit and had noted the
ways of my leading. And we went thus until the end of the seventh hour. And surely, in that
time, we heard the murmuring in the night which told of a fire-hole
somewise before us; and soon to have the red glare plain to our eyes,
and the noise of the murmuring to die away into the nearer mutter of
the fire; and so presently to be anigh; and we to make forward with a
good speed, because that we feared utterly the thing that made quiet
chase of us through the night. And oft I did look backward, and smelt the air, that I know whether it
did be a monster Slug-beast that chased us; but there did be no
worseness of the smell, to tell me aught. And alway, I did be fretted in the heart, that we could make no greater
speed; but, indeed, as you shall perceive, our going did be but a slow
thing in the dark places, and even thus we had many a sore tumbling and
bruising. And by this, we were come almost unto the fire-hole; and immediately, I
saw that I knew the place, for there went upward beside the fire, a
great jaggedness of rock, that I had seen upon mine upward way. And surely, I caught the Maid in an instant, and bent her, and she quick
to obey with her body. And we were both immediately hid downward among
the boulders. And this I did, because I minded how that there did be
many of the Monsters nigh to this same fire-hole, as I did go upon mine
upward way.