We chose the opposite drive to the one I had explored, and moved in, Treloar leading.
‘Hello!’ said he presently, ‘someone’s been here before us. See, there’s been a good-sized pillar taken out. Why, here’s some of the dirt left yet! And—good God!’ he suddenly exclaimed, ‘what’s this?’
Pushing up alongside him, and holding my candle forward, I saw, lying at full length, a human skeleton. And yet it was not a complete skeleton. Here and there, rags and tatters of flesh, dry and hard as leather, stuck to the frame. A pair of heavy boots, with the ankle bones protruding, lay detached, and remnants of clothing were still visible. But the head was what fixed our gaze, the first horror of the thing over. The fore part [86] ]of the skull had been smashed completely in. Near by lay a small driving-pick, thickly encrusted as with rust.
‘Neither rats, nor mice, nor snakes did that,’ whispered Treloar, pointing to the awful fracture.
‘Surely,’ I replied, with a shiver, ‘this can’t be the thing old Brummy’s searching for. No wonder he insisted on the place being haunted.’
‘Not that poor valueless shell,’ answered my friend, who was now kneeling, ‘but this! and this! and this!’ holding up, as he spoke, three fine nuggets, whose dull gleam had caught his eye in the heap of loose drift on which the skeleton partially lay.
‘Never!’ I exclaimed. ‘He never would have had the pluck to face back again if that is some of his work.’
‘If it is,’ said Treloar, quickly springing to his feet, thereby bumping the roof with his head, ‘we shall soon hear of it. Back, man! Back for your life! Hark! By G—d! there’s Kálee now. Good dog, hold him!’ as if it were possible for her to hear at that depth.
Pushing and scrambling along, we got to the entrance of the drive, where the muffled sounds resolved themselves in a furious hullaballoo of barks and curses. Then, as we paused for a moment, swish, swish, down came the windlass rope, falling all of a heap. Just as we were on the point of pushing out, what feeble light there was at the bottom changed into total darkness, and, with a terrific smash, a heavy mass fell at our feet. [87] ]Then silence, broken only by low groans and hoarse fierce growls.
With trembling hands we relit our candles, and saw more distinctly.