HARE AND HOUND
I
Brutes!
But—they knew nothing of the man-hole they were clustered round.
The boy's heart soared.
He passed on, as quiet as a mole.
Burrowing beneath the lowest hell, he had heard the voices of those in torment within hand's touch of him.
Now heaven opened its far door. He crawled towards the light. It was no longer a star; it was an eye, the eye of a soul, the Soul of Souls. And it was loving him.
The boy crawled on.
The great earth, warm and dark about him, gave him strength. She was a friendly great beast, breathing and blowing all round him. He could hear her, and feel her. On Beachy Head he had been a fly crawling on her hide; now he was the same fly swallowed. He was creeping along her gullet towards her mouth. Motherly old thing, she covered him well, and he was grateful to her. That good thick flesh of hers stood between him and that which he did not care to contemplate. As he crawled he kicked her in the ribs to show he recognized that she meant well.