Now chance, that had been so faithful to me, was not to jilt me yet. There was plenty of time before the hour at which my dinner was ordered; so to relieve my nerves by not taking matters too seriously, I strolled along the crest of the hills looking out for any shots that might come in my way. I brought off a good many, and after a while began to descend from the high ground towards the Geierthal, my path being now one leading eventually almost direct to the Monastery, that is to say, a good mile below my inn. With what I determined should be my last shot I knocked over a hare, but puss struggled up again and tried to make off. I ran after the animal to put it out of its pain, and, after some search and twistings, came up with her, threw down my gun, and catching up a handy stick gave her the coup-de-grâce. Then I turned to take up my gun. It was nowhere to be seen. I had not gone five paces away from it, yet now, to my utter astonishment, it had mysteriously disappeared. I could hardly believe my senses, for I was surely alone in that spot. Anyhow, the gun was not visible, and I thereupon began to search the place more closely, not without an uncomfortable feeling at the apparent mysteriousness of the thing. The ground was rough and broken. I carefully determined the spot where the gun must have fallen and proceeded to examine it methodically. Suddenly the explanation came to me in uncomfortable fashion. My foot slipped unaccountably, slipped so far that I fell. Hastily picking myself up, the cause became apparent. There was an unnoticed cavity in the ground. I examined it and was relieved to find my gun, which had lodged a short way below the surface. But the hole itself was deep; it was more than a chance fissure in the earth. It was curious enough at least to call for further investigation. Clearing away with considerable trouble the earth and stones I enlarged the aperture sufficiently to be able to see what it really was. To my great astonishment I came presently upon a deep hollow space beneath. As it was quite dark I threw a stone in and listened. It struck and seemed to reach the bottom a few feet down. It was a passage, then.
Resolving to explore it, I worked away to enlarge the hole so as to afford some means of entrance, also of getting out again when I should be in. In about twenty minutes I had broken away enough round the hole for this purpose, and at once proceeded to let myself down.
CHAPTER XXXI
THE DARK WAY
I had not been mistaken; it was a subterranean passage that I had come upon. The floor seemed to be on a considerable incline, and on groping my way a few yards in the ascending direction I found a short flight of stone steps. Certain light-admitting fissures in the earth above enabled me to see that these steps led to a sort of trap-door formed by a stone flag, giving exit, no doubt, to the surface above. Had I but suspected this I might have saved myself half an hour’s hard work; however, it was done now, and I turned to begin the descent of the passage.
After passing my rough entrance I found myself faced, as the way ran deeper into the earth, by absolute darkness. Feeling in my pocket for my matchbox, I happily came upon the piece of candle which I had slipped into it the night before when the holder had served me so effectually for a weapon. This on being lighted seemed but to intensify the blackness in front of me, but at least it would keep my feet from pit-falls.
The passage, damp, mouldy, and foul-smelling from the confined atmosphere, led downwards, and then having reached a certain depth, its course became level. On and on I went, the candle burning dimly in the vitiated air. But the way was clear, and, putting aside the influence of the dismal surroundings one could walk on without much discomfort. The passage seemed never ending, yet the farther it led me on, the higher was my curiosity raised to find the end of it.
Suddenly the ground began to dip again and a fairly long descent followed. This again was succeeded by a level stretch, but here the aspect of the tunnel changed. The roof and sides were covered with a slimy green ooze, the air became dank and chill, the darkness, if possible, more impenetrable. Clusters of nitre hung in fantastic shapes from the roof; the sensation of being buried alive was almost overpowering. But an idea which during my progress had gradually been taking shape in my head was now practically confirmed.
The mysterious passage I calculated led direct towards the Monastery. This was the only conceivable explanation of its existence. The reason of the sudden dive and the reeking walls was that it was now running under the moat. If so, and there was scarcely room for doubt, it must lead to some part of the Monastery. This thought spurred me on to pursue my way through about as abominable a bolt-hole as man ever devised.