Page:The Snake's Pass (Stoker).djvu/97

 And then beyond all else would be the certainty—which is at present in my mind only a hope or a dream—that we could fathom the secret of the shifting bog, and perhaps abolish or reclaim it."

"This is exceedingly interesting," said I, as I drew my chair closer. And I only spoke the exact truth, for at that moment I had no other thought in my mind. "Do you mind telling me more, Dick? I suppose you are not like Lamb's Scotchman that will not broach a half-formed idea!"

"Not the least in the world. It will be a real pleasure to have such a good listener. To begin at the beginning, I was much struck with that old cavity on the top of the hill. It is one of the oddest things I have ever seen or heard of. If it were in any other place or amongst any other geological formation I would think its origin must have been volcanic. But here such a thing is quite impossible. It was evidently once a lake."

"So goes the legend. I suppose you have heard it?"

"Yes! and it rather confirms my theory. Legends have always a base in fact; and whatever cause gave rise to the myth of St. Patrick and the King of the Snakes, the fact remains that the legend is correct in at least one particular—that at some distant time there was a lake or pond on the spot."

"Are you certain?"

"A very cursory glance satisfied me of that. I could