“That can be arranged,” said I airily. “I’ll nip up the other side of the ship and get aboard. I can get hold of plenty of stuff in the pantry.”
“As if I should allow it for a moment. I forbid it absolutely,” and she brought her little foot with a stamp upon the rock floor.
I still edged toward the cave mouth, explaining that the danger was practically nil, though well did I know the contrary. Still a man can’t sit still to watch a particularly sweet woman starve, even if he has to risk a bit to bring her victual.
“I cannot stand the ignominy of starvation,” I assured her, “not to mention the discomfort.”
She came toward me with her eyes so sweetly appealing that I felt sick with temptation. “If you go,” she said almost tearfully—there really was a humid look in her blue eyes—“I shall simply die of fright. I won’t be left alone.”
I hesitated and was lost. She put her hand upon my sleeve, and looked up searchingly into my face. “Please, please, please, don’t go. I really am very frightened.”
Goodness knows what I should have done next. Probably taken her in my arms and sworn neither to leave her then nor ever again, regardless of Denvarre or any question of mere honor. But fate took matters out of my hand.
The brute above us gave a hiccough; I believe he meant it for a sneeze, but as a minor explosion of sorts it might have held up its head with cordite cartridges or an oil motor-car. Gwen, whose nerves were, as you may imagine, a trifle beyond control by now, gave a cry and fled into my arms, which opened of themselves to receive her. And so for a minute we stood silent and listening, while my pulses rioted within me.
After a moment or two we were aware that the fœtid odor of the great Beast was being overpowered by a resistless smell of sulphur. This was doubtless giving our friend a sore throat, and titillating his nostrils. I hoped devoutly that the unpleasantness of it would be too much for him. He snorted once or twice again, and then a faint steam began to rise from the depths, as I had seen it do in the morning. Far below us I could hear the faint lap of water upon the stones.
Then a horrible fear took possession of me. The water was rising, hot from some volcanic spring. Shortly it would gurgle out at our feet and flood our refuge. Then we should have the necessity before us of deciding whether we would drown—or perchance be parboiled—or step resignedly into the jaws of the Monster outside.