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the beast in the cave by h.p lovecraft
the horrible conclusion which had been
gradually intruding itself upon my
confused and reluctant mind was now
an awful certainty i was lost
completely hopelessly lost in the vast
and labyrinthine recess of the mammoth
cave
turn as i might in no direction could my
straining vision sees on any
object capable of serving as a guidepost
to set me on the outward path
that nevermore should i behold the
blessed light of day or scan the
pleasant bills and dales of the
beautiful world outside
my reason could no longer entertain the
slightest unbelief
hope had departed yet indoctrinated as i
was by a life of philosophical study
i derived no small measure of
satisfaction from my unimpassioned
demeanor
for although i had frequently read of
the wild frenzies into which were thrown
the victims of similar situations
i experienced none of these but stood
quiet as soon as i clearly realized the
loss of my bearings
nor did the thought that i had probably
wandered beyond the utmost limits of an
ordinary search caused me to abandon my
composure even for a moment
if i must die i reflected then was this
terrible yet majestic cavern as welcome
a sepulcher as that which any churchyard
might afford
a conception which carried with it more
of tranquility than of despair
starving would prove my ultimate fate of
this i was certain
some i knew had gone mad under
circumstances such as these
but i felt that this end would not be
mine
my disaster was the result of no fault
save my own
since unknown to the guide i had
separated myself from the regular party
of sightseers
and wandering for over an hour in
forbidden avenues of the cave had found
myself
unable to retrace the devious windings
which i had pursued since forsaking my
companions
already my torch had begun to expire
soon i would be enveloped by the total
and almost palpable blackness of the
bowels of the earth
as i stood in the waning unsteady light
i oddly wondered over the exact
circumstances of my coming end i
remembered the accounts which i had
heard of the colony of consumptives
who taking their residence in this
gigantic grotto to find health from the
apparently salubrious air of the
underground world
with its steady uniform temperature pure
air
and peaceful quiet had found instead
death in strange and ghastly form i had
seen the sad remains of their ill-made
cottages as i passed them by with a
party
and had wondered what unnatural
influence a long sojourn in this immense
and silent cavern would exert upon one
as healthy and vigorous
as i now like rimley told myself
my opportunity for settling this point
had arrived
provided that want of food should not
bring me too speedy a departure from
this life
as the last fitful rays of my torch
faded into obscurity
i resolved to leave no stone unturned no
possible means of escape neglected
so summoning all the powers possessed by
my lungs
i set up a series of loud shoutings in
the vain hope of attracting the
attention of the guide by my clamor
yet as i called i believed in my heart
that my cries were to no purpose
and that my voice magnified and
reflected by the numberless ramparts of
the black maze about me
fell upon no ears saved my own all at
once however
my attention was fixed with a start as i
fancied that i heard the sound of soft
approaching steps on the rocky floor
of the cavern was my deliverance about
to be accomplished so soon
had then all my horrible apprehensions
been for naught
and was the guide having marked my
unwarranted absence from the party
following my course and seeking me out
in this limestone labyrinth
whilst these joyful queries arose in my
brain i was on the point of renewing my
cries in order that my discovery might
come the sooner
when in an instant my delight was turned
to horror as i listened
for my ever acute ear now sharpened an
even greater degree by the complete
silence of the cave
bore to my benumbed understanding the
unexpected and dreadful knowledge
that these footfalls were not like those
of any mortal man
in the unearthly stillness of the
subterranean region
the tread of the buddha guide would have
sounded like a series of sharp and
incisive blows
these impacts were soft and stealthy as
the pause of some feline
besides when i listen carefully i seem
to trace the falls of four
instead of two feet i was now convinced
that i had by my own cries aroused and
attracted some wild beast perhaps a
mountain lion which had accidentally
strayed within the cave
perhaps i considered the almighty had
chosen for me a swifter and more
merciful death than that of hunger
yet the instinct of self-preservation
never holy dormant
was stirred in my breast and though
escaped from the oncoming peril might
but spare me for a sterner and more
lingering end
i determined nevertheless to part with
my life
at as high act price as i could command
strange as it may seem my mind conceived
of no intent on the part of the visitor
save that of hostility accordingly
i became very quiet in the hope that the
unknown beast would
in the absence of a guiding sound lose
its direction as had i
and thus passed me by but this hope was
not destined for realization
for the strange footfall steadily
advanced
the animal evidently having obtained my
scent
which in an atmosphere so absolutely
free from all distracting
influences as is that of the cave could
doubtless be followed at great distance
seeing therefore that i must be armed
for defense against an uncanny and
unseen attack in the dark
i groped about me the largest of the
fragments of rock which were strewn upon
all parts of the floor of the cavern in
the vicinity
and grasping one in each hand for
immediate use
awaited with resignation the inevitable
result
meanwhile the hideous patterning of the
paws drew near
certainly the conduct of the creature
was exceedingly strange
most of the time the tread seemed to be
that of a quadruped walking with a
singular lack of unison betwixt hind and
four feet
yet at brief and infrequent intervals i
fancied that but two feet were engaged
in the process of locomotion
i wondered what species of animal was to
confront me
it must i thought be some unfortunate
beast who had paid for its curiosity to
investigate one of the entrances of the
fearful grotto
with a lifelong confinement in its
interminable recesses
it doubtless obtained as food the
eyeless fish
bats and rats of the cave as well as
some of the ordinary fish that are
wasted in at every frachet of green
river
which communicates in some occult manner
with the waters of the cave
i occupied my terrible vigil with
grotesque conjectures
of what alteration cave life might have
brought
in the physical structure of the beast
remembering the awful appearances
ascribed by local tradition to the
consumptives who had died after long
residence in the cave
then i remembered with a start that even
should i succeed in failing my
antagonist
i should never behold its form as my
torch had long since been extinct
and i was entirely unprovided with
matches
the tension on my brain now became
frightful
my disordered fancy conjured up hideous
and fearsome shapes from the sinister
darkness that surrounded me
and that actually seemed to press upon
my body
nearer nearer the dreadful footfalls
approached
it seemed that i must give vent to a
piercing scream
yet i had been sufficiently irresolute
to attempt such a thing
my voice could scarce have responded i
was petrified
rooted to the spot i doubted if my right
arm would allow me to hurl its missile
at the oncoming thing when the crucial
moment should arrive
now the steady pat pat of the steps was
close at hand
now very close i could hear the labored
breathing of the animal
and terror struck as i was i realized
that it must have come from a
considerable distance
and was correspondingly fatigued
suddenly the spell broke
my right hand guided by my ever
trustworthy sense of hearing
through with full force a sharp angled
bit of limestone which it contained
toward that point in the darkness from
which emanated the breathing and
patterning and
wonderful to relate it nearly reached
its goal
for i heard the thing jump landing at a
distance away where it seemed to pause
having readjusted my aim i discharged my
second missile
this time most effectively for with a
flood of joy
i listened as the creature fell in what
sounded like a complete collapse and
evidently remained prone and unmoving
almost overpowered by the great relief
which rushed over me
i reeled back against the wall the
breathing continued
in heavy gasping inhalation and
expirations
once i realized that i had no more than
wounded the creature
now i'll desire to examine the things
ceased
at last something allied to groundless
superstitious fear had entered my brain
and i did not approach the body nor did
i continue to cast stones at
it in order to complete the extinction
of its life
instead i ran at full speed in what was
as nearly as i could estimate in my
frenzied condition
the direction from which i had come
suddenly i heard a sound or rather a
regular succession of sounds
in another instant they had resolved
themselves into a series of sharp
metallic clicks
this time there was no doubt it was the
guide
and then i shouted yelled screamed even
shrieked with joy
as i beheld in the vaulted arches above
the faint and glimmering effulgence
which i knew to be the reflected light
of an approaching torch
i ran to meet the flare and before i
could completely understand what had
occurred
i was lying on the ground at the feet of
the guide embracing his boots and
jibbering
despite my boasted reserve in a most
meaningless and idiotic manner
pouring out my terrible story and at the
same time overwhelming my auditor with
protestations of gratitude
at length i awoke to something like my
normal consciousness
the guide had noted my absence upon the
arrival of the party at the entrance of
the cave
and had from his own intuitive sense of
direction
proceeded to make a thorough canvas of
bypassages just ahead of where he had
last spoken to me
locating my whereabouts after a quest of
about four
hours by the time he had related this to
me
i emboldened by his torch and his
company
began to reflect upon the strange beast
which i had wounded but a short distance
back in the darkness
and suggested that we ascertain by the
flashlight's aid
what manner of creature was my victim
accordingly i retraced my steps this
time with the courage born of
companionship to the scene of my
terrible experience
soon we described a white object upon
the floor
an object wider even than the gleaming
limestone itself
cautiously advancing we gave vent to a
simultaneous ejaculation of wonderment
for of all the unnatural monsters either
of us have had in our lifetimes be held
this was in surpassing degree the
strangest
it appeared to be an anthropoid ape of
large proportions
escaped perhaps from some itinerant
menagerie
its hair was snow white a thing due no
doubt to the bleaching action of a long
existence
within the e key confines of the cave
but it was also surprisingly thin being
indeed largely absent save on the head
where it was of such
length and abundance that it fell over
the shoulders in considerable
profusion the face was turned away from
us as a creature lay almost directly
upon it
the inclination of the limbs was very
singular
explaining however the alternation in
their use which i had
before noted whereby the beast used
sometimes all for
and on other occasions but two for its
progress
from the tips of the fingers or toes
long rat like claws extended
the hands or feet were not prehensile a
fact which i ascribed to that long
residence in the cave which
as i before mentioned seemed evident
from the
all-pervading and almost unearthly
whiteness so characteristic of the whole
anatomy no tail seemed to be present
the respiration had now grown very
feeble and the guide had drawn his
pistol with the evident intent of
dispatching the creature
when a sudden sound emitted by the
ladder caused the weapon to fall
unused the sound was of a nature
difficult to describe
it was not like the normal note of any
known species of simeon
i wonder if this unnatural quality were
not the result of a long continued and
complete silence
broken by the sensations produced by the
advent of the light
a thing which the beast could not have
seen since its first entrance into the
cave
the sound which i might feebly attempt
to classify as a kind of
deep tone chattering was faintly
continued
all at once a fleeting spasm of energy
seemed to pass through the frame of the
beast
the pause went through a convulsive
motion and the limbs contracted
with a jerk the white body rolled over
so that his face was turned in our
direction
for a moment i was so struck with horror
at the eyes thus revealed that i noted
nothing else
they were black those eyes deep jetty
black in hideous contrast to the snow
white hair and flesh
like those of other cave denisons they
were deeply sunken in their orbits
and were entirely destitute of iris as i
looked more closely
i saw that they were said in a face less
prognosis than that of the average ape
and infinitely less hairy the nose was
quite distinct
as we gazed upon the uncanny sight
presented to our vision
the thick lips opened and several sounds
issued from them
after which the thing relaxed in death
the guide clutched my coat sleeve and
trembled so violently that the light
shook
fitfully casting weird moving shadows on
the walls
i made no motion but stood rigidly still
my horrified eyes fixed upon the floor
ahead
the fear left and wonder ah compassion
and reverence succeeded in his place for
the sounds uttered by the stricken
figure that lay
stretched out on the limestone had told
us the awesome truth
the creature i had killed the strange
beast of the unfathomed cave
was or had at one time been
a man end of the beast in the cave
by h.p lovecraft
