It was almost dark by the time I reached the village of Luray. I galloped1 up to the hotel where we had left our horses that morning and without dismounting called out to the loafers on the veranda2 to ask if anyone had seen Colonel Gaylord. Two or three of them, glad of a diversion, got up and sauntered out to the stepping-stone where I waited, to discuss the situation.
What was the matter? they inquired. Hadn't the Colonel gone home with the rest of the party?
No, he had not, I returned impatiently, and I wanted to know if any of them had seen him.
They consulted together and finally decided3 that no one had seen him, and at this the stable boy vouchsafed4 the information that Red Pepper was still in the barn.
"I thought maybe the Colonel was intending to make me a present of that horse," the landlord observed with a grin, as he joined the group.
A chuckle5 ran around the circle at this sally. It was evident that the Colonel did not have a reputation in the county for making presents. I impatiently gathered up my reins6 and one of the men remarked:
"I reckon young Gaylord got home in good time. He was in an almighty7 hurry when he started. He didn't stop for no farewells."
With numerous interruptions and humorous interpolations, they finally managed to tell me in their exasperatingly8 slow drawl that Rad had come back to the hotel that afternoon before the rest of the party, had drunk two glasses of brandy, called for his horse, and galloped off without speaking a word to anyone except to swear at the stable boy. The speaker finished with the assertion that in his opinion Rad Gaylord and Jeff Gaylord were cut out of the same block.
I shifted my seat uneasily. This information did not tend to throw any light on the question of the Colonel's whereabouts, and I was in no mood just then to listen to any more gossip about Rad.
"I'm not looking for young Gaylord," I said shortly. "I know where he is. It's the Colonel I'm after. Neither he nor Cat-Eye Mose have come back, and I'm afraid they're lost in the cave."
The men laughed at this. People didn't get lost in the cave, they said. All anyone had to do was to follow the path; and besides, if the Colonel was with Mose he couldn't get lost if he tried. Mose knew the cave so well that he could find his way around it in the dark. Colonel Gaylord had probably met some friends in the village and driven home with them.
But I would not be satisfied with an explanation of that sort. The Colonel, I knew, was not in the habit of abandoning horses in any such casual manner; and even supposing he had gone home with some friends, he would scarcely have taken Mose along.
I dismounted, turned my horse over to the stable boy, and announced that the cave must be searched. This request was received with some amusement. The idea of getting out a search party for Cat-Eye Mose struck them as peculiarly ludicrous. But I insisted, and finally one of the men who was in the habit of acting9 as guide, took his feet down from the veranda railing with a grunt10 of disapproval11 and shambled into the house after some candles and a lantern. Two or three of the others joined the expedition after a good deal of chaffing at my expense.
We set out for the mouth of the cave by a short cut that led across the fields. It was quite dark by this time, and as there was no moon our one lantern did not go far toward lighting12 the path. We stumbled along over plowed13 ground and through swampy14 pastures to the music of croaking15 frogs and whip-poor-wills. At first the way was enlivened by humorous suggestions on the part of my companions as to what had become of Colonel Gaylord, but as I did not respond very freely to their bantering16, they finally fell silent with only an occasional imprecation as someone stubbed his toe or caught his clothing on a brier. After a half hour or so of plodding17 we came to a clear path through the woods and in a few minutes reached the mouth of the cave.
A rough little shanty18 was built over the entrance. It was closed by a ramshackle door which a child could have opened without any difficulty; there was at least no danger of the Colonel's having been locked inside. Lighting our candles, we descended19 the rough stone staircase into the first great vault20, which forms a sort of vestibule to the caverns22. With our hands to our mouths we hallooed several times and then held our breath while we waited for an answer. The only sound which came out of the stillness was the occasional drip of water or the flap of a bat's wing. Had the Colonel been lost in any of the winding23 passages he must have heard us and replied, for the slightest sound is audible in such a cavern21, echoing and re-echoing as it does through countless24 vaulted25 galleries. The silence, however, instead of assuring me that he was not there only increased my uneasiness. What if he had slipped on the wet clay, and having injured himself, was lying unconscious in the darkness?
The men wished to turn back, but I insisted that we go as far as the broken column which lies in a little gallery above Crystal Lake. That was the place where the coat had been left, and we could at least find out if either the Colonel or Mose had returned for it. We set out in single file along the damp clay path, the light from our few candles only serving to intensify26 the blackness around us. The huge white forms of the stalactites seemed to follow us like ghosts in the gloom; every now and then a bat flapped past our faces, and I wondered with a shiver how anyone could get up courage to go alone into such a hole as that.
"Crystal Lake" is a shallow pool lying in a sort of bowl. On the farther side the path runs up seven or eight feet above the water along the broken edge of a cliff. A few steps beyond the pool the path diverges27 sharply to the left and opens into the little gallery of the broken column.
Just as we were about to ascend28 the two or three stone steps leading to the incline, the guide in front stopped short, and clutching me by the arm pointed29 a shaking forefinger30 toward the pool.
I strained my eyes into the darkness but I could see nothing.
"There, that black thing under the bank," he said, raising his candle and throwing the light over the water.
We all saw it now and recognized it with a thrill of horror. It was the body of Colonel Gaylord. He was lying on his face at the bottom of the pool, and with outstretched arms was clutching the mud in his hands. The still water above him was as clear as crystal but was tinged32 with red.
"It's my uncle!" I cried, springing forward. "He's fallen over the bank. He may not be dead."
But they held me back.
"He's as dead as he ever will be," the guide said grimly. "An' what's more, Colonel Gaylord warn't the man to drown in three foot o' water without making a struggle. This ain't no accident. It's murder! We must go back an' get the coroner. It's agen the law to touch the body until he comes."
It went to my heart to leave the old man lying there at the bottom of that pool, but I could not prevail on one of them to help me move him. The coroner must be brought, they stubbornly insisted, and they restrained me forcibly when I would have waded33 into the water. We turned back with shaking knees and hurried toward the mouth of the cave, slipping and sliding in the wet clay as we ran. I, for one, felt as though a dozen assassins were following our footsteps in the dark. And all the time I had a sickening feeling that my uncle's death only foreshadowed a more terrible tragedy. The guide's: "This ain't no accident; it's murder," kept running in my head, and much as I tried to drive the thought from me, a horrible suspicion came creeping to my mind that I knew who the murderer must be.
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1
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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2
veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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5
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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7
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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exasperatingly
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9
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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10
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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11
disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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12
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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13
plowed
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| v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
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14
swampy
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| adj.沼泽的，湿地的 | |
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15
croaking
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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16
bantering
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| adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
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17
plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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18
shanty
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| n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子 | |
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19
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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22
caverns
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| 大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
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23
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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24
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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26
intensify
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| vt.加强；变强；加剧 | |
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27
diverges
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| 分开( diverge的第三人称单数 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳 | |
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28
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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29
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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30
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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31
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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32
tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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