From there, I transferred my attention to the study door.  I could see, now, even more plainly, the effects of the tremendous strain, to which it had been subjected; and I marveled how, even with the support afforded by the props, it had withstood the attacks, so well.  There were no marks of blows—­indeed, none had been given—­but the door had been literally riven from its hinges, by the application of enormous, silent force.  One thing that I observed affected me profoundly—­the head of one of the props had been driven right through a panel.  This was, of itself, sufficient to show how huge an effort the creatures had made to break down the door, and how nearly they had succeeded.

Leaving, I continued my tour ’round the house, finding little else of interest; save at the back, where I came across the piece of piping I had torn from the wall, lying among the long grass underneath the broken window.

Then, I returned to the house, and, having re-bolted the back door, went up to the tower.  Here, I spent the afternoon, reading, and occasionally glancing down into the gardens.  I had determined, if the night passed quietly, to go as far as the Pit, on the morrow.  Perhaps, I should be able to learn, then, something of what had happened.  The day slipped away, and the night came, and went much as the last few nights had gone.

When I rose the morning had broken, fine and clear; and I determined to put my project into action.  During breakfast, I considered the matter, carefully; after which, I went to the study for my shotgun.  In addition, I loaded, and slipped into my pocket, a small, but heavy, pistol.  I quite understood that, if there were any danger, it lay in the direction of the Pit and I intended to be prepared.

Leaving the study, I went down to the back door, followed by Pepper.  Once outside, I took a quick survey of the surrounding gardens, and then set off toward the Pit.  On the way, I kept a sharp outlook, holding my gun, handily.  Pepper was running ahead, I noticed, without any apparent hesitation.  From this, I augured that there was no imminent danger to be apprehended, and I stepped out more quickly in his wake.  He had reached the top of the Pit, now, and was nosing his way along the edge.

A minute later, I was beside him, looking down into the Pit.  For a moment, I could scarcely believe that it was the same place, so greatly was it changed.  The dark, wooded ravine of a fortnight ago, with a foliage-hidden stream, running sluggishly, at the bottom, existed no longer.  Instead, my eyes showed me a ragged chasm, partly filled with a gloomy lake of turbid water.  All one side of the ravine was stripped of underwood, showing the bare rock.