And in slumber did I have speech with
her in dreams, and a strange happiness about me, and all seeming to be
touched by fairy-light, and freed from the sorrow of life. And it was from a sweet and lovely sleeping, such as this, that I was
waked suddenly by a great and mighty sound; and I came instant to a
possessing of my senses; and I knew that the mighty Voice of the
Home-Call did go howling across the Night. And, swift and silent, I slid
the cloak from about me, and took the haft of that wondrous Diskos into
mine hand. And I did look towards the Pyramid, quickly, for a message; for I had a
sure knowledge that there had a great Need arisen, and that some Terror
came towards me out of the Dark; else they had never waked all the Night
Land to a knowing that an human was abroad out of the Mighty Refuge. And even as I did peer towards the Great Redoubt, I could not abide to
keep my gaze entire that way; but did take a large and fearful look all
about me; yet could make to see nothing; and so did stare, eager and
anxious, afar into the upper blackness of the Night, where did shine
that Final Light of the Tower of Observation; and the same while
crouched, and holding the Diskos, and making to glance across my
shoulders, and to watch for the message, and all in the same moment. And then, afar upwards in the prodigious height, I did see the great,
and bright and quick darting flashes of a strange green fire, and did
know that they spelled to me in the Set-Speech a swift warning that a
grey monster, that was a Great Grey Man, had made scent of me in the
dark, and was even in that moment of time, crawling towards me through
the low moss-bushes that lay off beyond the fire-hole to my back. And
the message was sharp; and bade me to leap into the bushes unto my left;
and to hide there; so that I might chance to take the thing to an
advantage. And, as may be thought, they had scarce flashed the tale unto me; but I
was gone in among the shadows of a clump of the moss-bush that did grow
anigh; and I sweat with a strange terror, and a cold and excited shaking
of the heart; yet was my spirit set strong to conquer. And lo! as I did crouch there, hidden, I saw something come very quiet
out of the bushes that did grow beyond the fire-hole; and it was great,
and crept, and was noways coloured but by greyness in all its parts. And
the glare from the fire-hole did seem to trouble it; so that it looked,
laying its head to the ground, and spying along the earth, in a strange
and Brutish fashion; that it might oversee the glare of the fire-hole. Yet, I doubt that it saw beyond the fire with plainness; for, in a
moment, it crept swift in among the bushes again, and came out towards
the edge of the fire-hole in another place; and this it did thrice unto
my left, and thrice unto my right; and every time did lay its head to
the earth, and spy along; and did hunch its shoulders, and thrust
forward the jaw horridly and turn the neck, as a very nasty beast might
go, wanton. Now, as you may think, this manner of the Beast-Man did shake my courage
mightily; for I did think each time that it did go inward among the
moss-bushes, that it had made discovery of me, and would make to take me
in the back, from out of the dark of the bushes; and this was an
uncomfortable thing to consider, as others might think also, had any
been there in the bush with me. And then, in truth, did that same swift
sense of mine Hearing, prove helpful to my saving; for, behold, the
thing did go back into the moss-bushes, after that last coming out; and
did seem to make as it had made a failing to discover me, and had no
further intent, save to return unto the Night; and I had this thought
truly in mine heart, and for maybe a minute; and then, lo! within my
soul a voice did speak plain, and did warn me that the thing did make a
great compass among the moss-bushes about the fire-hole, having made
discovery of me; and it did go warily to take me in the back, from the
other side. Now, when I heard this voice speak within my spirit, I had knowledge
that the dear Master Monstruwacan made watch from the Tower of
Observation, and did send the speech with his brain-elements, having in
mind that I had the Night-Hearing. And I trusted the speech; for in the
same moment of time there did beat all about me in the Night the solemn
throb of the Master-Word, as that it had been added with speed, to give
instant assurance. And I leapt quick from that clump of the moss-bush,
unto another, and crouched, and made a watch all about me; and kept the
ears of my spirit open, knowing that the Master Monstruwacan did also
watch all, for me. And, suddenly, I saw a little moving of a bush that grew to the back of
those bushes in which I had been hid; and there came out of the bush
that moved, a great grey hand, and moved the moss of the clump where I
had been, as it were that something peered out of the moving bush. And
there followed the great grey head of the Grey Man, and the head went
into the clump of the moss-bush where I had been. And I knew that I must strike now; and I leapt, and smote with the
Diskos; and the thing fell upon its side, and the great grey legs came
out of the hither bushes, and twitched and drew upwards; but the head
remained in the bush where I had been hid. And I stood away from the
thing whilst it died; and in mine hand the Diskos did spin and send
forth fire; as it were that it did live, and did know that it had slain
a great and horrid monster. And presently the Grey Man was dead; and I went away from those bushes,
unto the far side of the fire-hole. And I stood with the Diskos held
high and spinning and sending out fire, that they within the Mighty
Pyramid might know that I had slain the Beast-Man; for it might be that
it lay too much in the shadow for them to look upon. But the Master Monstruwacan spoke not again to me; for, indeed, it was
not meet to do so, except it might save me from a sure danger; for, as
you may know from my past tellings, there were Powers of the Night Land
that did hearken unto such matters; and it was like enough that there
had been overmuch done, even thus, for my further safety. Yet the thing
could not be helped. And now that I was a little calmed, and eased from my fear, I could know
that all that the aether of the night was disturbed by the gladness of
the millions within the Great Redoubt; so that it was plain how great a
multitude had given note unto the fight; and their hearts to beat in
sweet sympathy and natural fear; so that I did feel companied and
befriended; though, as it may be thought, something shaken yet about the
heart. Now, in a little time, I did gather unto me my wits and had myself to
order; and I looked to see how the hours did go, and I found that I had
surely slumbered through ten hours. And I reproached myself; for,
indeed, I had slept oversound by reason of my having lacked a regular
way and time, as I had with a proper wisdom made to be my rule.