"Aw," laughed Eli, "I be'ant no wizard, be I? I be 'eavier than the church Bible, I be. Ther' now, hold yerself stiddy, and I'll take et out."
He felt along the roof of the cavern, and presently gave a grunt of satisfaction.
"I've got et, Jasper, I've got et. 'Tes oal 'ere. Pennington and the purty maid. Aw, aw!"
With that I let him down on the floor, and saw that he held something in his hand.
"Now, then, let's see it," I cried, for in my eagerness I had forgotten all about my ghostly fears.
"Come 'ere to a lew place," said Eli; "this'll do. I'll hould the candle while you raid."
The packet which he had taken from a hole in the cave was covered with some kind of skin, and was carefully sewn with strong twine. I took my knife from my pocket, and was about to cut it open when I looked around. The candle which Eli held partially lit up the cave, sufficient, indeed, to enable me to see nearly every part of it. A moment later I had started to my feet and seized the pistol which I had bought at Truro, but my hand became nerveless.
Close to me, not ten feet away, I saw that which turned my blood to ice. It seemed to my excited imagination a creature fashioned in the likeness of a man, and yet its eyes shone as I had never seen human eyes shine, and the face was terrible to look upon. The thing held up its hands, and I saw that they were long and lean. He uttered a cry. "No, no, no!" he said.
A mist came before my eyes, and my senses seemed to depart from me. For a minute or more I was ignorant of what passed.