Pulling myself together, I groped for the door, and, having found it, made my way upstairs, stumbling at each step.  I felt dazed, as though I had received a blow on the head.  At the same time, my hand smarted badly, and I was full of a nervous, dull rage against those Things.

Reaching my study, I lit the candles.  As they burnt up, their rays were reflected from the rack of firearms on the sidewall.  At the sight, I remembered that I had there a power, which, as I had proved earlier, seemed as fatal to those monsters as to more ordinary animals; and I determined I would take the offensive.

First of all, I bound up my hand; for the pain was fast becoming intolerable.  After that, it seemed easier, and I crossed the room, to the rifle stand.  There, I selected a heavy rifle—­an old and tried weapon; and, having procured ammunition, I made my way up into one of the small towers, with which the house is crowned.

From there, I found that I could see nothing.  The gardens presented a dim blur of shadows—­a little blacker, perhaps, where the trees stood.  That was all, and I knew that it was useless to shoot down into all that darkness.  The only thing to be done, was to wait for the moon to rise; then, I might be able to do a little execution.

In the meantime, I sat still, and kept my ears open.  The gardens were comparatively quiet now, and only an occasional grunt or squeal came up to me.  I did not like this silence; it made me wonder on what devilry the creatures were bent.  Twice, I left the tower, and took a walk through the house; but everything was silent.

Once, I heard a noise, from the direction of the Pit, as though more earth had fallen.  Following this, and lasting for some fifteen minutes, there was a commotion among the denizens of the gardens.  This died away, and, after that all was again quiet.

About an hour later, the moon’s light showed above the distant horizon.  From where I sat, I could see it over the trees; but it was not until it rose clear of them, that I could make out any of the details in the gardens below.  Even then, I could see none of the brutes; until, happening to crane forward, I saw several of them lying prone, up against the wall of the house.  What they were doing, I could not make out.  It was, however, a chance too good to be ignored; and, taking aim, I fired at the one directly beneath.  There was a shrill scream, and, as the smoke cleared away, I saw that it had turned on its back, and was writhing, feebly.  Then, it was quiet.  The others had disappeared.

Immediately after this, I heard a loud squeal, in the direction of the Pit.  It was answered, a hundred times, from every part of the garden.  This gave me some notion of the number of the creatures, and I began to feel that the whole affair was becoming even more serious than I had imagined.