Human agency again, in my opinion.
Finally, Armitage clinched all his arguments
by telling me that he had actually heard the
Creature—indeed, that anyone could hear
it who remained long enough at the Gap. It
was a distant roaring of an immense volume.
I could not but smile at this, knowing, as I
do, the strange reverberations which come
out of an underground water system running
amid the chasms of a limestone formation.
My incredulity annoyed Armitage so that he
turned and left me with some abruptness.
And now comes the queer point about
the whole business. I was still standing near
the mouth of the cave turning over in my
mind the various statements of Armitage, and
reflecting how readily they could be explained
away, when suddenly, from the depth of the
tunnel beside me, there issued a most extraor-
dinary sound. How shall I describe it? First
of all, it seemed to be a great distance away,
far down in the bowels of the earth. Secondly,
in spite of this suggestion of distance, it was
very loud. Lastly, it was not a boom, nor a
crash, such as one would associate with fall-
ing water or tumbling rock, but it was a high
whine, tremulous and vibrating, almost like
the whinnying of a horse. It was certainly a
most remarkable experience, and one which
for a moment, I must admit, gave a new sig-
nificance to Armitage’s words.

Chapter 1