The House on the Borderland

ore, surrounded by a huge estate,

avine-spoken of as the 'Pit,' by the peasantry. At the bottom runs a

n, emerging suddenly at the East end of the ravine, and disappearin

on it were) of the great Plain that my atte

beneath me, and fell with a sullen crash through the trees. I heard them splash in the river at the bottom; and then silence. I should not have given this incide

ck to the house, quickly, for a stick. When I returned, Pepper had ce

he bottom of the Pit must be about a hundred and fifty feet, and some time as

e river. It was very dark there due to the overhanging trees, an

ne side of the river, without hearing or seeing anything. Then, we crossed over-by t

e had just come. One large rock came thundering down through the treetops, struck the opposite bank, and bounded into the river, driv

t halfway up the South cliff. It was answered by a similar note from the bottom of the Pit. At this,

e rose a semi-human yell of agony. Almost immediately, Pepper gave a long-drawn howl of pain, and then the shrubs were violently agitated, and he came running out with his tail dow

nt, I had burst into a little clear space, just in time to see something, livid white in color, disappear among the bushes on the opposite side. With a shout, I ran toward it; but, though I struck and probed among the bushes with my stick

ned to Pepper, and I told her he had been fighting with

It was much too big, and had, so far as I had observed, a skin like a hog's, only of a dead, unhealthy white color. And then-it had run upright, or nearly so, upon its hind feet, with a motion so

ng that the above i

happening to look up suddenly, I saw something peering i

Thing that had haunted the great arena. It had a grotesquely human mouth and jaw; but with no chin of which to speak. The nose was prolonged into a snout; thus it was that w

inanely, and once emitted a half-swinish grunt. I think it was the eyes that attracted me the most; they seemed to glow, at times, wi

and bore an indistinct resemblance to human hands, in that they had four fingers and a thumb; though these were webbed up to the first

by saying that it was more a sensation of abhorrence; such as one might expect to feel, if brought in contact

ey seemed to come back to me, afterward, as though imprinted upon my brain. I imagined

e alarm that held me, and took a step toward the window. Even as I did so, the thing ducked and vanishe

rdens. As I went, I asked myself whether the thing I had just seen was likely to be

hance to heal. Besides, if the creature I had just seen was, as I imagined, h

if it were possible, to find and put an end to that

rdens, I became less apprehensive. I felt almost as though I would welcome the sight of it. Anything seemed better than this silence, with the ever-present feeling that the

, with an expression of doubt upon her face. I wondered whether she had seen or guessed anything. For the rest of the afternoon, I prosecuted the search anxiously. I felt that I should be unable to sleep, with that bestial thing haunting the shrubberies, and yet, when evening fell, I had seen nothing. Then, as I turned homeward, I heard a short, unintelligible noise, among the bushes t

t that they were securely fastened. This precaution was scarcely necessary as regards the windows, as all of those on the

; it seemed so huge and echoey. For some time I tried to read; but at last finding it impo

rubbing and fumbling against the back door. Once the door creaked, loudly; as though force were being applied to it. During those few, short moments, I expe

The stealthy movement

gain. I felt as I imagine an animal must, under the eye of a snake. Yet now I could h

itself into a faint murmur. Quickly it developed and grew into a muffled but hi

dropped my book. After that, I just sat; and thus the daylight found me, w

of stupor and fear left me; and I ca

d broke the chilly silence. For some minutes I stood there; then, very gra

, save the grey vista of dreary, tangled bushes

the door, and made my