could do nothing. I did not remain upon the spot another minute, buthurried home to the castle. As I rapidly walked on I felt the dog besideme, and, putting my hand upon him, I felt that he was panting terribly.For three days I did not leave the house.
"About the end of this time I was sitting in an upper room of thecastle, reflecting upon the recent dreadful event, when the thoughtstruck me that the invisible dog, who was by my side, apparently asleep,must be of an unusually powerful build to overcome so easily such astrong man as Kaldhein. I felt a desire to know how large the creaturereally was, and, as I had never touched any portion of his body back ofhis shoulders, I now passed my hand along his back. I was amazed at hislength, and when I had moved my hand at least seven feet from his headit still rested upon his body. And then the form of that body began tochange in a manner which terrified me; but impelled by a horrible butirresistible curiosity, my hand moved on.
"But I no longer touched the body of a dog; the form beneath my hand wascylindrical, apparently about a foot in diameter. As my hand moved onthe diameter diminished, and the skin of the creature became cold andclammy. I was feeling the body of a snake!
"I now had reached the open door of the room. The body of the snakeextended through it. It went on to the top of the stairs; these I beganto descend, my heart beating fast with terror, my face blanched, I amsure, but my hand still moving along the body of the awful creature. Ihad studied zoology, giving a good deal of attention to reptiles, and Iknew that, judged by the ordinary ratio of diminution of the bodies ofserpents, this one must extend a long distance down the stairs.
"But I had not descended more than a dozen steps before I felt a shiverbeneath my hand, and then a jerk, and the next moment the snake's bodywas violently drawn upward. I withdrew my hand and started to one side,and then, how, I know not, I became aware that the dog part of thecreature was coming downstairs.
"I now became possessed by a wild terror. The creature must be furiousthat I had discovered his real form. He had always been careful to keephis head toward me. I should be torn to pieces as Kaldhein had been!Down the stairs I dashed, across the courtyard, and toward a lofty oldtower, which stood in one corner of the castle. I ran up the windingstairs of this with a speed which belongs only to a franticallyterrified creature, until I reached the fourth story, where I dashedthrough an open doorway, slammed behind me an iron door, which shut witha spring, and fell gasping upon the floor.
"In less than a minute I was aware, by a slight rattling of thegrate-hinges, that something was pushing against the door; but I did notmove. I knew that I was safe. The room in which I lay was a prisondungeon, and in it, in the olden times, it is said, men had been left toperish. Escape or communication with the outer world was impossible. Alittle light and air came through a narrow slit in the wall, and thedoor could not be forced.
"I knew that the invisible dog, or whatever it was, could not get inunless the door was open. I had frequently noticed that when he entereda room it was through an open door, and I sometimes knew of his approachby seeing an unlatched door open without visible cause; so, feelingsecure for the present, I lay and gasped and panted.
"After the lapse of a few hours, however, I was seized by a new terror.How was I ever to get out of this horrible dungeon? Even if I made up mymind to face the dog, trusting that he had recovered from his momentaryanger, I had no means of opening the door, and as to making any one hearme I knew that was impossible.
"I had no hope that my servants would seek me here. I had not seen anyone when I ran into the tower, and if they should discover that I was inthis dungeon, how could they open the door? The key was in my father'spossession. He had taken it to Vienna to exhibit it as a curiosity tosome of his mechanical friends. He believed that there was not suchanother key in the world. I was in the habit of making long absencesfrom the castle, and if I should be looked for I believed that the towerwould be the last place visited.
"Night came on; the little light in the room vanished, and, hungry,thirsty, and almost hopeless, I fell asleep.
"During the night there was a most dreadful storm. The thunder roared,the lightning flashed through the slit in the wall, and the wind blewwith such terrific violence that the tower shook and trembled. After atime I heard a tremendous crash as of falling walls, and then another,and now I felt the wind blowing into my prison.
"There was no further sleep for me. Trembling with a fearfulapprehension of what might happen next, I cowered against the wall untilthe day broke, and then I perceived that in front of me was a great holein the wall of the dungeon, which extended for more than a yard abovethe floor. I sat and gazed at this until the light became stronger, andthen I cautiously approached the aperture and looked out. Nearly thewhole of the castle lay in ruins before me!
"It was easy to see what had happened. The storm had demolished thecrumbling walls of the old building, and the tower, itself frail andtottering, stood alone, high above the prostrate ruins. If the windsshould again arise it must fall, and at any moment its shakenfoundations might give way beneath it.
"Through the hole in the wall, which had been caused by the tearing awayof some of the connection between the tower and main building, I couldlook down on the ground below, covered with masses of jagged stone; butthere was no way in which I could get down. I could not descend thatperpendicular wall. If I leaped out, death would be certain.
"As I crouched at the opening I felt the head of a dog pushed againstme. A spasm of terror ran through me, but the moment the creature beganto lick my hands I knew that I had nothing to fear from him. Instantlymy courage returned. I felt that he was my protector. I patted his headand he renewed his caresses.
"Passing my hand over him, I found he was holding himself in his presentposition by means of his forelegs, which were stretched out upon thefloor. What a dog this must be, who could climb a wall! But I gave notime to conjectures of this sort. How could I avail myself of hisassistance? In what manner could he enable me to escape from thatdangerous tower?
"Suddenly a thought came to me. I remembered the snake part of him.Judging from the ratio of diminution, which I have mentioned before,that part, if hanging down, must reach nearly, if not quite, to theground. By taking advantage of this means of descent I might be saved,but the feat would require dexterity and an immense amount of faith.This serpent-like portion of the animal was invisible. How could I knowhow long it was!
"But there was no time for consideration; the wind had again arisen, andwas blowing with fury. The tower shook beneath me; at any moment itmight fall. If I should again escape from death, through the assistanceof my invisible friend, I must avail myself of that assistanceinstantly.
"I stopped and felt the animal. He still hung by part of his body and byhis forelegs to the floor of the dungeon, and by reaching out I couldfeel that the rest of him extended downward. I therefore seized his bodyin my arms, threw myself out of the aperture, and began to slide down.
"In a very short time I found that I had reached the snake portion ofthe creature, and, throwing my arms and legs around it, I endeavouredwith all my strength to prevent a too rapid descent; but in spite of allmy efforts, my downward progress was faster than I would have wished itto be. But there was no stopping; I must slip down.
"In these moments of rapid descent my mind was filled with wild anxietyconcerning the serpent-like form to which I was clinging. I rememberedin a flash that there were snakes whose caudal extremity dwindled awaysuddenly into a point. This one might do so, and at any instant I mightcome to the end of the tail and drop upon the jagged stones below.
"Calculation after calculation of the ratio of diminution flashedthrough my mind during that awful descent. My whole soul was centredupon one point. When would this support end? When would I drop?
"Fortunately I was on the leeward side of the tower, and I was not swungabout by the wind. Steadily I descended, and steadily the diameter ofthe form I grasped diminished; soon I could grasp it in my hand; thenwith a terrified glance I looked below. I
was still at a sickeningdistance from the ground. I shut my eyes. I slipped down, down, down.The tail became like a thick rope which I encircled with each hand. Itbecame thinner and thinner. It grew so small that I could not hold it;but as I felt it slip from my fingers my feet rested on a pile ofstones.
"Bewildered and almost exhausted, I stumbled over the ruins, gained theunencumbered ground, and ran as far from the tower as I could, sinkingdown at last against the trunk of a tree in a neighbouring field.Scarcely had I reached this spot when the fury of the wind-stormappeared to redouble, and before the wild and shrieking blast the towerbent and then fell with a crash upon the other ruins.
"The first thought that came into my mind when I beheld the dreadfulspectacle concerned the creature who had twice saved my life. Had heescaped, or was he crushed beneath that mass of stone? I felt on eitherside to discover if he were near me, but he was not. Had he given
The Stories of the Three Burglars Page 16