Page:Doughty--Mirrikh or A woman from Mars.djvu/228

 could now dimly discern hideous faces peering at us by dozens. Not only were they in the fire itself, but around and above, coming and going, flitting about in every direction. For the most part they were recognizably human faces and evil-looking beyond description. Not a few animal faces were mingled with them, however; these were not the faces of modern animal forms, but looked as though they might have escaped from the pages of some geological text book, freely illustrated with prehistoric creatures. They seemed to come and go, as did also the more human faces, with a sort of pulsation; beside this the whole mass of faces had a rotary movement with the fire for its axis. Words fail when I attempt to express the horror which seized me as I gazed.

“By heavens, Wylde, this is worse than the D. Ts!” whispered the Doctor.

Was it the mere act of speech which did the mischief?

I cannot answer; I only know that instantly as the Doctor uttered these words, the whole mass of heads and faces  seemed to detach itself from the fire and come bounding  toward us over the sand, enveloped in a milky cloud, while  the cave fairly rang with wild yells and hideous screeches.

We sprang to our feet and backed against the wall, for retreat was impossible. I do not pretend to analyze the Doctor’s feelings, but I know that for the moment my fear was intense, and I found myself doing what I had not  done since my childhood—repeating the prayer for God’s protection which I had learned to lisp at my mother’s knee.

“Away! Away you devils! Get back to hell!" roared the Doctor.

Then above the terrific din which filled the cavern, old Padma’s voice could be distinguished uttering unintelligible  words in clear distinct tones.

Suddenly the voices ceased and there was only the old lama’s audible; for a moment the bounding mass seemed to halt in its advance, though the movement of the faces still continued. Then all at once the whole was obliterated and we were facing Padma; his eyes were blazing with passion, his face livid with rage.

“Fools! Madmen!” he burst out. “Would you endanger your own lives as well as mine? So much for attempting to instruct such minds as yours in our occult mysteries. It is enough! My guide spoke truly when he warned me against you. Let your fate be upon your own heads!”