WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.200 --> 00:00:08.359 Here are a few short tails, and they're true to 2 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:11.599 the best of my knowledge. You're welcome to use my name. 3 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:14.480 The other names are from people long gone or they 4 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:17.719 had nicknames, and I hope you can use these stories. 5 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:21.519 Only one is about a booger sisquatch, and it's a 6 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:25.039 second hand story. But I noticed that you sometimes like 7 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:27.480 to tell stories about other things that go bump in 8 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:31.600 the night, So here we go. The first story is 9 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:36.159 titled coach Whips. My mother used to tell us about 10 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:39.359 a cousin. And I can't recall the old gal's name, 11 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:43.759 but let's call her Myrtle. Myrtle was walking out under 12 00:00:43.799 --> 00:00:47.159 some trees and a pair of coach whips snakes. Those 13 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:51.119 are black racers, and they probably have other names. They 14 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:55.079 drop from the tree and one encircled each of Myrtle's arms. 15 00:00:55.799 --> 00:00:59.000 The snakes bit her and constricted so strongly that a 16 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:02.719 male relative, I think his name was Uncle Jim, had 17 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:05.120 to sever the heads of the snakes to force them 18 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:09.599 to relinquish their grips. From then on, each season, when 19 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:14.640 coach whips shed their skin, Myrtle's skin would peel along 20 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:19.400 her arms where the snakes had attached themselves. When I 21 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:21.439 was in my teens, a pair of the same breed 22 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:24.879 of shiny black reptiles took up residence under our house. 23 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:28.239 My mother knew they were non venomous, but was having 24 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:31.760 none of it. She was typically a very gentle person, 25 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:37.120 especially toward elders, children, and animals. However, because of the 26 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:40.439 old family tale, she was terrified of this particular breed 27 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:43.640 of snake. As I was about to step out the door, 28 00:01:43.719 --> 00:01:46.400 one of them raced out in front under the house 29 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:49.519 near the front porch, in hot pursuit of a toad. 30 00:01:50.519 --> 00:01:53.079 I ran back in to fetch my shotgun and I 31 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:55.280 got back to the porch around the same time as 32 00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:58.959 a snake. It had missed its last meal, but paused 33 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:03.200 to raise its head, likely at my noise. The shot 34 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:07.719 severed the thing's head. The snake's mate got into a 35 00:02:07.799 --> 00:02:11.280 red oak tree in the backyard, and that one had 36 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:15.400 startled my mother. I again took up my shotgun while 37 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:18.520 she pointed out where the equally startled snake had fled 38 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:22.039 to the branches. The shot killed that one, but its 39 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:24.960 death grip and some handy branches left it high in 40 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:28.520 the tree. Well. I didn't care. It was summer and 41 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:31.800 I was prone to be sunburned, and I went inside. 42 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:35.080 I was recovering from one of the second degree blisters 43 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:37.639 on my chest and shoulders and back at the time 44 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:41.120 when I fired the kick from the twelve gates slammed 45 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:44.159 into the pocket of my right shoulder. It removed the 46 00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:46.479 top layer of flesh in the shape of the butt 47 00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:50.319 of the shotgun, and it hurt noticeably. But in the 48 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:55.280 end I'd been peeling like Myrtle supposedly was. Unfortunately it 49 00:02:55.319 --> 00:02:59.360 did not become a seasonal event. I'd finally learned to 50 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:03.879 avoid the son. Okay. The next one of his tales 51 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:07.639 is called Faye Lights Faye is I think it's a 52 00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:12.759 Celtic word for fairy. My mother related this story as 53 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:16.639 her grandmother Campbell and Pearl had told her. I heard 54 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:20.719 it from my mother Eloise and Pearl. When my mother 55 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:24.280 was about three years old, around nineteen thirty, she became 56 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:28.800 deathly ill with diphtheria. Her mother, my Grandma Pearl, and 57 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:32.240 her grandmother, great Grandma Sarah Campbell, stayed up with her 58 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:36.400 when the fever reached a critical point. Grandma Campbell was 59 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:39.680 an herbalist in a country doctor and at the time, 60 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:43.400 all the other measures and available remedies exhausted, all they 61 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:46.000 could do was bathe her in cool water and give 62 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:49.639 her SIPs of water. They lived in a very small 63 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.439 house or cabin, and there were only a few windows, 64 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:55.479 and they had my mother and little Eloise on a 65 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:57.840 bed near one of the windows, to do everything they 66 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:01.800 could to cool her fierce temperature. They'd all be giving 67 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:04.520 up hope in the wee hours of the morning when 68 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:09.520 a light appeared in the window above Eloise. The light 69 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:13.159 was a blue and white orb and it hovered for 70 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:16.720 a moment and then traveled to each window, clearly orbiting 71 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:20.560 the little home. After the third orbit, the light again 72 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:24.040 paused at Eloise's window, and then neither winked out or 73 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:26.879 sped away from the window so quickly as to appear 74 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:30.439 like it did. Pearl described it as when you turn 75 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:33.519 off the TV and the little light shrinks down to 76 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:37.120 that one little point and then it's gone. Those were 77 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:40.319 the days of TV sets with picture tubs. The light 78 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:45.160 was the last visual bit as the tube cooled. When 79 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:49.519 the light was gone, little Eloise's fever broke, and by 80 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:52.079 dawn she was drinking cups of water and was able 81 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:55.000 to eat. A little maul had a tough life of 82 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:58.199 work in raising her children, her siblings first and then 83 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:00.680 her own, and she managed to do it all with 84 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:03.600 a grin and genuine love for all of her charges. 85 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:07.160 She had her own light about her and could calm 86 00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:11.800 the most stressful situation and see with absolute clarity. Though 87 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:15.399 she typically withheld advice and allowed us to make our 88 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:19.240 own stumbles. Maybe it's in my mind, but when I 89 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:22.839 look back at our regular conversation, I recall the times 90 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:26.879 that she bit back her instinctive comments. Perhaps she didn't 91 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:30.680 feel worthy of giving advice. She was brilliant, but other 92 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:34.600 folks had convinced her otherwise. Or maybe she feared that 93 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:39.959 knowing the outcome would be like cheating. This short tale 94 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:44.759 is called the Original Golden Globes. Dad used to tell 95 00:05:44.839 --> 00:05:47.959 us about a neighbor in Carmona, Texas who had a 96 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:52.279 talent for finding gold nuggets and old coins. Dad was 97 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:55.720 born in nineteen twenty four, and I never asked whether 98 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:58.319 this was a story from one of his folks or 99 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:01.519 what he'd heard directly, But either way, it's had time 100 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:04.839 to grow some moss. It may have come from his grandparents, 101 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:08.959 who lived in Stryker, Texas. The man who was the 102 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:11.800 subject of the tales would go off into the woods, 103 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:16.120 particularly the piney creek bottoms, and he would emerge with gold, 104 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:21.560 usually a small nugget, sometimes a small coin, invariably worn 105 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:25.319 and of no clear providence. When asked where he'd gotten 106 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:27.439 the gold, the man would say that he followed the 107 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:31.199 lights and where they paused and then winked out, he'd 108 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:35.839 dig and immediately find the treasure. The man was never wealthy. 109 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:38.800 He didn't produce the gold often enough to do more 110 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:42.040 than live comfortably. He did not have to work more 111 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:44.959 than rural living required at the time, and spent most 112 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:48.240 of his time hunting and fishing and cracking out stories. 113 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:52.319 Dad said that many people tried unsuccessfully to track the 114 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:54.639 man when he'd slip off into the woods to look 115 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:58.160 for the lights. No one else saw the lights, and 116 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:01.959 speculation was that the man had either discovered or stolen 117 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:05.240 a small hoarde and visited it from time to time 118 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:10.439 to withdraw what was needed. This next tale is called 119 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:16.399 Man's Stories. My buddy Man told me this story in 120 00:07:16.439 --> 00:07:20.079 the fall of twenty twenty two. He was ninety two 121 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:23.519 then and a Korean War veteran. He's ninety three and 122 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:26.000 he's still going better than me at the age of 123 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:29.879 fifty nine. He got the nickname Man when he was 124 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:33.439 sixteen and a fellow had hired Man and a buddy 125 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:37.639 to remove some armadillos from near his home. Man took 126 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:40.480 hold of the creature's tailed and pulled while his buddy 127 00:07:40.519 --> 00:07:44.519 held the toastsac Man eventually yanked up the critter and 128 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:48.279 tucked it away in the sack, and the temporary employer 129 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:51.480 proclaimed that only a real man could do that without 130 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:55.879 getting a scratch. Man is a wealth of information, and 131 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:59.279 he shared several tales of my mother's family who lived 132 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:03.240 in Groveton, Texas. He used to deliver groceries to my 133 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:07.040 grandma Pearl back in the nineteen forties. And his favorite 134 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:10.360 tale other than the ones about the Moon Mullikan, also 135 00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:14.319 a contemporary of my dad, is about Bud and Carol 136 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:19.439 and the coon Dog. Bud had an exceptional blue hound. 137 00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:23.439 An acquaintance from Houston moved from the area for work 138 00:08:23.480 --> 00:08:26.560 and offered Bud a trade he take the dog for 139 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:31.040 his girlfriend, Carol. Bud readily agreed, and he and Carol 140 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:33.879 hit it off immediately. It was the start of a 141 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:38.519 long term marriage founded on love at first sight. About 142 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:41.320 a month after the trade, the acquaintance had to move 143 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:44.320 back to the city, and he offered to return the 144 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:47.519 hound to Bud, and Bud told him, I'll take the dog, 145 00:08:47.559 --> 00:08:50.879 but you ain't getting my gal. The city dude was 146 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:53.200 happy to get back to town and hire pay and 147 00:08:53.320 --> 00:08:56.120 Bud and Carol and Blue settled down in their own 148 00:08:56.200 --> 00:09:01.399 Blue Heaven. Now, Carol was from Wisconsin or Illinois or 149 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:05.440 one of those Yankee states, and Man would say, signs 150 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:10.159 vitriol simply his information. All she wanted was an old 151 00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:14.519 Texas cowboy, and that's what Bud was. She was exotic 152 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:17.200 as far as Bud was concerned, and they were both 153 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:22.440 small stature like a matched pair. Okay, the next story 154 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:26.759 is called one Other Story because he earned it. Like 155 00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:30.399 most combat veterans, Man doesn't speak much about the gory 156 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:34.000 parts of war, though his definition of trauma is different 157 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:37.759 than the current one. He spoke about an incident at 158 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:41.000 the end of the fighting. Everyone was frozen in place, 159 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:43.960 looking at the enemy, ready for the battles to start again, 160 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:47.759 but they didn't. The armistice held, and after a few 161 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:50.960 days he saw a soldier approaching from the enemy lines. 162 00:09:51.799 --> 00:09:54.320 He got the man halted and turned out the man 163 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:57.639 was an officer who had been educated in California, and 164 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:01.600 he spoke English. The man offered a bottle of wine 165 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:04.559 and spoke with man in some of the other troops. 166 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:08.360 They shared the bottle. Of course, man made the officer 167 00:10:08.440 --> 00:10:11.840 take the first drink. The officer told them that he'd 168 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:14.360 heard that the piece was true, and he hoped that 169 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:17.159 it was. He wasn't sure if the man was a 170 00:10:17.240 --> 00:10:21.320 Korean or a Chinese national, but he concluded with I 171 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:24.200 sure hope the man got back over here. I think 172 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:27.440 that was what he meant by visiting us and offering 173 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:31.200 us wine. I think he said he's hoping he came 174 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:33.639 back to the United States. But anyway, let's move on 175 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:39.399 to the next story. This is called Bartholomew's Bigfoot. Back 176 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:41.720 in the summer of nineteen ninety, I worked for the 177 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:46.519 sheriff in the People's Republic of Northern Virginia Soviet of Arlington. 178 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:51.159 It was a jail gig from seven pm to seven am, 179 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:53.879 so we had time to visit with our coworkers between 180 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:58.720 rounds and other duties, especially after lights out. I was 181 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:03.080 working the fifth floor Bartholomew. We'd hired on around the 182 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:05.919 same time, so we'd known each other for a few months. 183 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:08.799 He and I were what the inmates and many of 184 00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:13.080 our local coworkers called country asses. He was from central 185 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:17.519 Alabama and I was from East Texas. Bartholomele had a 186 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:19.960 great sense of humor and was always joking with the 187 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:23.559 other members of the shift. He was serious about the job, 188 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:27.080 he'd just liked to have fun, and I wholeheartedly agreed 189 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:30.759 it was the best way to approach life. One night 190 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:33.879 I returned from around during of which all our charges 191 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:37.120 had been asleep or close enough, and we sat and 192 00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:41.200 talked about our lives and our experiences. Because a person 193 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:43.840 may be known as a comedian by his fellows does 194 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:46.799 not mean that he is frivolous of mind or foolish. 195 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:52.159 Bartholomele was certainly no exception. On that night, we'd been 196 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:57.080 talking about monsters, UFOs, and ghosts and hats. I told 197 00:11:57.159 --> 00:11:59.600 him about my collection of books on the origins of 198 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:03.759 montsagys and myths. Always found that knowing the origins of 199 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:07.720 vampires and werewolves and Bigfoot and some boggers and lake 200 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:13.639 monsters and aliens made them more interesting rather than the reverse. Eventually, 201 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:15.200 he looked at me in the eye, and he said, 202 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:18.799 I want to tell you something. Everybody thinks I'm joking 203 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:21.440 when I tell this story, but I'm not, and I'm 204 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:25.320 trusting for you not to laugh at me. I assured 205 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:27.720 him that I understood that he was serious and I 206 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:31.159 would take him at his word as always. He said 207 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:33.639 that there wasn't much to it, but he'd seen a 208 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:36.960 bigfoot when he was in his teen years. We were 209 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:39.200 both in our early to mid twenties at the time 210 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:42.399 of this telling. He had been out in the woods 211 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:45.720 hunting and he hadn't seen anything all morning. He was 212 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:48.440 perched on a log at the foot of a large tree, 213 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:51.320 and he explained that his family was poor and had 214 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:53.720 to hunt where they could, mostly on the land where 215 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:57.639 they had the owner's permission. He said it got quiet 216 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:01.200 and he started to feel uneasy. He started to look around, 217 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:05.360 and then he saw it. It was peering from around 218 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:08.360 another large tree, pretty close to him, and it was 219 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:12.000 screened by some of the brush. He said it just 220 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:14.480 watched him, and it didn't move, and it didn't make 221 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:17.840 a sound. I noted that his eyes grew distant as 222 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.759 he spun this yarn, and he said it was big. 223 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:24.120 Mikey like nothing else in the woods. He said that 224 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:26.919 he got scared, and he shook some and even considered 225 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:29.840 shooting it. Yet even though it scared him, he just 226 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:31.919 didn't feel like that was the right thing to do. 227 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:35.559 He brought his gaze back to the present. I didn't 228 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:37.840 know it was some kind of animal or some kind 229 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:40.679 of person, but it felt more like a person, like 230 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:44.840 it was intelligent. He said that he watched for a moment, 231 00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:47.200 but when he glanced down at the shotgun and then 232 00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:50.759 looked up again, the creature was gone. He said that 233 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:55.440 he too, was soon gone from those woods. We talked 234 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:58.080 a little more about it, and I had no reason 235 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:01.480 to doubt him. Rended him a little, and then I 236 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:04.080 asked him if that was why he moved to the city. 237 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:06.799 It was an attempt to lighten the mood. But he 238 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:10.200 looked at me with a neutral expression, and he said, yeah, 239 00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:13.399 I missed my family, but I can't live out there anymore. 240 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:16.440 I had to hunt until I left home, and food 241 00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:20.080 his food, but I stayed out of them woods. Then 242 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:23.080 he lightened up a little and smiled. Now, white people 243 00:14:23.159 --> 00:14:26.159 catch enough crap when they tell these stories, And can 244 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:30.480 you imagine what a brother goes through? I couldn't tell nobody, 245 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:35.360 he said, I knew that. When his accent returned, we 246 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:38.399 were back to a lighter conversation, and it was his 247 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:45.679 turn to make the next round. The Beast in the 248 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:52.840 Cave by H. P. Lovecraft, The horrible conclusion which had 249 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:57.360 been gradually obtruding itself upon my confused and reluctant mind, 250 00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:04.080 was now an awful certainty. I was lost, completely, hopelessly 251 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:09.039 lost in the vast and labyrinthine recesses of the mammoth cave. 252 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:13.840 Turn as I might, in no direction could my straining 253 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:17.519 vision seize on any object capable of serving as my 254 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:21.679 guide post to set me on the outward path. That 255 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:24.440 never more should I behold the blessing of the light 256 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:27.840 of day, or scan the pleasant hills and dales of 257 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:32.840 the beautiful world outside. My reason could no longer entertain 258 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:39.639 the slightest unbelief hope had departed. Yet, indoctrinated as I 259 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:43.559 was by a life of philosophical study, I derived no 260 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:49.399 small measure of satisfaction from my unimpassioned demeanor. For although 261 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:52.759 I had frequently read of the wild frenzies into which 262 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:57.639 were thrown victims of similar situations, I experienced none of these, 263 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:01.320 but stood quiet as soon as I I clearly realize 264 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:05.440 the loss of my bearings. Nor did the thought that 265 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:08.559 I had probably wandered beyond the utmost limits of an 266 00:16:08.679 --> 00:16:12.840 ordinary search cause me to abandon my composure even for 267 00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:17.480 a moment. If I must die, I reflected, then, was 268 00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:21.919 this terrible yet majestic cavern as welcome a sepulcher as 269 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:26.840 that which any churchyard might afford, a conception which carried 270 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:32.480 with it more of tranquility than of despair. Starving would 271 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:37.399 prove my ultimate fate. Of this, I was certain some 272 00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:41.519 I knew had gone mad under circumstances such as these, 273 00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:45.600 But I felt that the sin would not be mine. 274 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:50.919 My disaster was the result of no fault save my own, since, 275 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:54.320 unbeknown to the guide, I had separated myself from the 276 00:16:54.399 --> 00:16:59.200 regular party of sightseers, and, wondering for over an hour 277 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:03.320 in forbidding avenues of the cave, had found myself unable 278 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:07.279 to retrace the devious windings which I had pursued since 279 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:13.640 forsaking my companions. Already my torch had begun to expire, 280 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:16.920 and soon I would be enveloped by the total and 281 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:22.000 almost palpable blackness of the bowels of the earth. As 282 00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:26.200 I stood in the waning, unsteady light, I idly wandered 283 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:30.799 over to the exact circumstances of my coming end. I 284 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:33.720 remembered the accounts which I had heard of the colony 285 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:38.119 of consumptives, who, taking their residence in this gigantic grotto 286 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:41.640 to find health from the apparently salubrious air of the 287 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:46.480 underground world, with its steady, uniform temperature, pure air, and 288 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:53.440 peaceful quiet, had found instead death in strange and ghastly form. 289 00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:56.759 I had seen the sad remains of their ill made 290 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:59.720 cottages as I passed by them with the party, and 291 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:03.960 had I wondered what unnatural influence along sojourn in this 292 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:08.359 immense and silent cavern would exert upon one as healthy 293 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:13.599 and as vigorous as I now. I grimly told myself 294 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:18.440 my opportunity for settling this point had arrived, provided that 295 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:21.079 one of food should not bring me to speedy a 296 00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:26.319 departure from this life. As the last fitful rays of 297 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:29.920 my torch faded into obscurity, I resolved to leave no 298 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:35.400 stone unturned, no possible means of escape neglected, So summoning 299 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:38.480 all the powers possessed in my lungs. I set up 300 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:41.680 a series of loud shoutings in the vain hope of 301 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:46.200 attracting the attention of the Guide by my clamor. Yet 302 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:49.000 as I called, I believed in my heart that my 303 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:52.759 cries were to no purpose, and that my voice, magnified 304 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:56.079 and reflected by the numberless rampart of the black maids 305 00:18:56.119 --> 00:19:01.279 about me, fell upon no ears save my own. All 306 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:05.240 At once, however, my attention was fixed with a start, 307 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:08.279 as I fancied that I heard the sound of soft 308 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:12.400 approaching steps on the rocky floor of the cavern. Was 309 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:16.759 my deliverance about to be accomplished? So soon? Had then 310 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:20.480 all my horrible apprehensions been for naught? And was the 311 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:25.160 Guide having marked my unwarranted absence from the party following 312 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:28.960 my course and seeking me out in this limestone labyrinth. 313 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:34.319 While these joyful queries arose in my brain, I was 314 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:37.079 on the point of renewing my cries in order that 315 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:40.960 my discovery might come the sooner, when in an instant 316 00:19:41.079 --> 00:19:44.359 my delight was turned to horror as I listened for 317 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:48.640 my ever acute ear, now sharpened in even greater degree 318 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:51.880 by the complete silence of the cave bore to my 319 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:57.440 benumbed understanding the unexpected and dreadful knowledge that these footfalls 320 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:01.519 were not like those of any mortal man. In the 321 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:06.359 unearthly stillness of the subterranean region, the tread of the 322 00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:09.279 booted god would have sounded like a series of sharp 323 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:14.920 and incisive blows. These impacts were soft and stealthy, as 324 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:19.680 of the padded paws of some feline. Besides, at times, 325 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:22.759 when I listened carefully, I seemed to trace the falls 326 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:28.359 of four instead of two feet. I was now convinced 327 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:31.640 that I had, by my cries, aroused and attracted some 328 00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:36.240 wild beast, perhaps a mountain lion, which had accidentally strayed 329 00:20:36.279 --> 00:20:40.640 within the cave. And perhaps I considered the Almighty had 330 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:44.400 chosen me a swifter and more merciful death than that 331 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:50.519 of hunger. Yet the instinct of self preservation, never wholly dormant, 332 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:54.039 was stirred in my breast, And though escaped from the 333 00:20:54.119 --> 00:20:57.200 oncoming peril, might but spare me for a sterner and 334 00:20:57.319 --> 00:21:00.880 more lingering in, I determined never the less to part 335 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:03.519 with my life at as high a price as I 336 00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:09.119 could command. Strange as it may seem, my mind conceived 337 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:12.200 of no intent on the part of the vista save 338 00:21:12.359 --> 00:21:18.440 that of hostility. Accordingly, I became very quiet in the 339 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:21.519 hope that the unknown beast wood, in the absence of 340 00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:25.160 a guiding sound, lose its direction as had I, and 341 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:29.279 thus passed by me. But this hope was not destined 342 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:34.319 for realization, for the strange footfall steadily advanced, and the animal, 343 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:38.440 evidently having obtained my scent, which, in an atmosphere so 344 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:42.720 absolutely free from all distracting influence as that of a cave, 345 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:48.640 could doubtless be followed at great distance. Seeing therefore that 346 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:51.839 I must be armed for defense against an uncanny and 347 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:55.200 unseen attack. In the dark, I groped about me the 348 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:58.839 largest of the fragments of rock, which were strewn upon 349 00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:01.599 all parts of the floor of the cavern in the vicinity, 350 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:05.720 and grasping one in each hand for immediate use, I 351 00:22:05.799 --> 00:22:12.200 awaited the resignation of the inevitable result. Meanwhile, the hideous 352 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:16.480 pattering of the palls drew near. Certainly, the conduct of 353 00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:20.839 the creature was exceedingly strange. Most of the time, the 354 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:24.359 tread seemed to be that of a quadruped walking with 355 00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:28.200 a singular lack of unison betwixt hind and four feet, 356 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:32.519 Yet at brief and infrequent intervals, I fancied that but 357 00:22:32.680 --> 00:22:38.240 two feet were engaged in the process of locomotion. I 358 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:42.480 wondered what species of animal was to confront me. It must, 359 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:45.920 I thought, be some unfortunate beast who had paid for 360 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:49.359 its curiosity to investigate one of the entrances of the 361 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:54.920 fearful grotto. With a lifelong confinement. In its interminable recesses, 362 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:01.240 it doubtless obtained as food the eyeless fishsh and bats 363 00:23:01.240 --> 00:23:03.680 and rats of the cave, as well as some of 364 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:06.880 the ordinary fish that were wafted in at every fish 365 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:10.599 net of the green River, which communicates in some occult 366 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:15.400 manner with the waters of the cave. I occupied my 367 00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:20.960 terrible vigil with grotesque conjectures of what altercations cave life 368 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:24.160 might have wrought in the physical structure of the beast, 369 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:28.720 remembering the awful appearances ascribed by local tradition to the 370 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:32.559 consumptives who had died after long residence in the cavern. 371 00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:37.680 And then I remembered with a start, that even should 372 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:41.759 I succeed in killing my antagonist, I should never behold 373 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.519 its form, as my torch had long since been extinct 374 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:50.559 and I was entirely unprovided with matches. The tension on 375 00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:57.079 my brain now became frightful. My disordered fancy conjured up 376 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:02.200 hideous and fearsome shapes from the sinister darkness that surrounded me, 377 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:07.240 and that actually seemed to press upon my body. Nearer 378 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:12.359 and nearer the dreadful footfalls approached. It seemed that I 379 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:16.039 must give vent to a piercing scream. Yet, had I 380 00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:20.359 been sufficiently irresolute to attempt such a thing, my voice 381 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:25.319 could scarce have responded. I was petrified and rooted to 382 00:24:25.400 --> 00:24:28.880 the spot. I doubted if my right arm would allow 383 00:24:28.920 --> 00:24:31.920 me to hurl its missile at the oncoming thing when 384 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:36.079 the crucial moment should arrive. And now the steady pat 385 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:40.359 pat of the steps was close at hand. Now they 386 00:24:40.359 --> 00:24:44.680 were very close. I could hear the labored breathing of 387 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:48.759 the animal, and terror struck as I was, I realized 388 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:51.880 that it must have come from a considerable distance. It 389 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:57.839 was correspondingly fatigued. Suddenly the spell broke My right hand, 390 00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:01.680 guided by my ever trustworthy sin of hearing through with 391 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:06.039 full force the sharp angled bit of limestone which it contained, 392 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:09.359 toward that point in the darkness from which emanated the 393 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:14.440 breathing and pattering and wonderful to relate it nearly reached 394 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:18.319 its goal, for I heard the thing jump, landing at 395 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:23.960 a distance away where it seemed to pause. Having readjusted 396 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:28.359 my aim, I discharged my second missile, this time most effectively, 397 00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:30.759 for with a flood of joy, I listened as the 398 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:34.319 creature fell in what sounded like a complete collapse, and 399 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:40.400 evidently remained prone and unmoving. Almost overpowered by the great 400 00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:44.240 relief which rushed over me, I reeled back against the wall. 401 00:25:45.799 --> 00:25:51.160