It was Nona's silk scarf.
Somehow I had not thought of Gurglepool, so much as of the lesser hole with its mysterious black depths. Gurglepool lay more open to observation. If she had chosen to descend the path, she would have had no means of hiding herself below, while daylight lasted.
Here seemed to be evidence that she had descended it, however, and recently too. For if the scarf had been there not much more than half-an-hour earlier, I must surely have seen it.
Could she be below still?
I spoke her name, called it, and had no answer. Gazing fixedly, till my eyes ached, I fancied I could detect something close to the pool-edge,—something like a human body lying prone. I believe one may look and imagine in dim light, till one can see almost anything. I thought at last that I could detect the very attitude, the pose of the helpless limbs, the white face upturned.
Nothing of course remained to me but to go straight down. The others might wonder where I was; but I could not delay.
The path was slimy and slippery from the heavy rain of the day before, much worse than on my former visit. I meant to descend cautiously. I suppose I was tired out, unnerved, overstrained, and the thought of Nona lying there made my limbs tremble.
About three-quarters of the way to the bottom, when I had just loosened my grasp of the hand-rail to pull up my skirt,—I slipped, and could not recover myself.
It was a long moment's horror,—a helpless sliding quick descent, faster and faster. I thought I should shoot into the dark deep pool, and sink,—sucked downward into the underground river coursing through. And in that instant, I wondered if Arthur Lenox would care.
Then I had arrived at the bottom,—not in the water, but on its muddy margin, just where I had supposed Nona to be. No figure was there, only a large whitish stone which had dropped from the rocky wall. I came down kneeling upon this stone, my whole weight thrown almost entirely upon the right knee; and with the impetus of my descent I rebounded nearly a yard, rolling over on my side.