The only evidence of the once stately pile of Castra Regis and its
inhabitants was a shapeless huddle of shattered architecture, dimly seen
as the keen breeze swept aside the cloud of acrid smoke which marked the
site of the once lordly castle. As for Diana's Grove, they looked in
vain for a sign which had a suggestion of permanence. The oak trees of
the Grove were still to be seen--some of them--emerging from a haze of
smoke, the great trunks solid and erect as ever, but the larger branches
broken and twisted and rent, with bark stripped and chipped, and the
smaller branches broken and dishevelled looking from the constant stress
and threshing of the storm. Of the house as such, there was, even at the short distance from which
they looked, no trace. Adam resolutely turned his back on the
devastation and hurried on. Mimi was not only upset and shocked in many
ways, but she was physically "dog tired," and falling asleep on her feet. Adam took her to her room and made her undress and get into bed, taking
care that the room was well lighted both by sunshine and lamps. The only
obstruction was from a silk curtain, drawn across the window to keep out
the glare. He sat beside her, holding her hand, well knowing that the
comfort of his presence was the best restorative for her. He stayed with
her till sleep had overmastered her wearied body. Then he went softly
away. He found his uncle and Sir Nathaniel in the study, having an early
cup of tea, amplified to the dimensions of a possible breakfast. Adam
explained that he had not told his wife that he was going over the
horrible places again, lest it should frighten her, for the rest and
sleep in ignorance would help her and make a gap of peacefulness between
the horrors. Sir Nathaniel agreed. "We know, my boy," he said, "that the unfortunate Lady Arabella is dead,
and that the foul carcase of the Worm has been torn to pieces--pray God
that its evil soul will never more escape from the nethermost hell." They visited Diana's Grove first, not only because it was nearer, but
also because it was the place where most description was required, and
Adam felt that he could tell his story best on the spot. The absolute
destruction of the place and everything in it seen in the broad daylight
was almost inconceivable. To Sir Nathaniel, it was as a story of horror
full and complete. But to Adam it was, as it were, only on the fringes. He knew what was still to be seen when his friends had got over the
knowledge of externals. As yet, they had only seen the outside of the
house--or rather, where the outside of the house once had been. The
great horror lay within. However, age--and the experience of age--counts. A strange, almost elemental, change in the aspect had taken place in the
time which had elapsed since the dawn. It would almost seem as if Nature
herself had tried to obliterate the evil signs of what had occurred. True, the utter ruin of the house was made even more manifest in the
searching daylight; but the more appalling destruction which lay beneath
was not visible. The rent, torn, and dislocated stonework looked worse
than before; the upheaved foundations, the piled-up fragments of masonry,
the fissures in the torn earth--all were at the worst. The Worm's hole
was still evident, a round fissure seemingly leading down into the very
bowels of the earth. But all the horrid mass of blood and slime, of
torn, evil-smelling flesh and the sickening remnants of violent death,
were gone. Either some of the later explosions had thrown up from the
deep quantities of water which, though foul and corrupt itself, had still
some cleansing power left, or else the writhing mass which stirred from
far below had helped to drag down and obliterate the items of horror. A
grey dust, partly of fine sand, partly of the waste of the falling ruin,
covered everything, and, though ghastly itself, helped to mask something
still worse. After a few minutes of watching, it became apparent to the three men that
the turmoil far below had not yet ceased. At short irregular intervals
the hell-broth in the hole seemed as if boiling up. It rose and fell
again and turned over, showing in fresh form much of the nauseous detail
which had been visible earlier. The worst parts were the great masses of
the flesh of the monstrous Worm, in all its red and sickening aspect. Such fragments had been bad enough before, but now they were infinitely
worse. Corruption comes with startling rapidity to beings whose
destruction has been due wholly or in part to lightning--the whole mass
seemed to have become all at once corrupt! The whole surface of the
fragments, once alive, was covered with insects, worms, and vermin of all
kinds. The sight was horrible enough, but, with the awful smell added,
was simply unbearable. The Worm's hole appeared to breathe forth death
in its most repulsive forms. The friends, with one impulse, moved to the
top of the Brow, where a fresh breeze from the sea was blowing up. At the top of the Brow, beneath them as they looked down, they saw a
shining mass of white, which looked strangely out of place amongst such
wreckage as they had been viewing. It appeared so strange that Adam
suggested trying to find a way down, so that they might see it more
closely. "We need not go down; I know what it is," Sir Nathaniel said. "The
explosions of last night have blown off the outside of the cliffs--that
which we see is the vast bed of china clay through which the Worm
originally found its way down to its lair. I can catch the glint of the
water of the deep quags far down below. Well, her ladyship didn't
deserve such a funeral--or such a monument." * * * * *

The horrors of the last few hours had played such havoc with Mimi's
nerves, that a change of scene was imperative--if a permanent breakdown
was to be avoided. "I think," said old Mr. Salton, "it is quite time you young people
departed for that honeymoon of yours!" There was a twinkle in his eye as
he spoke.