Then, suddenly, a thought came to me, and I held my breath.  The other breathing stopped.  I breathed again, and, once more, it re-commenced.  But now, I no longer feared.  I knew that the strange sounds were not made by any lurking Swine-creature; but were simply the echo of my own respirations.

Yet, I had received such a fright, that I was glad to scramble up the rift, and haul up the rope.  I was far too shaken and nervous to think of entering that dark hole then, and so returned to the house.  I felt more myself next morning; but even then, I could not summon up sufficient courage to explore the place.

All this time, the water in the Pit had been creeping slowly up, and now stood but a little below the opening.  At the rate at which it was rising, it would be level with the floor in less than another week; and I realized that, unless I carried out my investigations soon, I should probably never do so at all; as the water would rise and rise, until the opening, itself, was submerged.

It may have been that this thought stirred me to act; but, whatever it was, a couple of days later, saw me standing at the top of the cleft, fully equipped for the task.

This time, I was resolved to conquer my shirking, and go right through with the matter.  With this intention, I had brought, in addition to the rope, a bundle of candles, meaning to use them as a torch; also my double-barreled shotgun.  In my belt, I had a heavy horse-pistol, loaded with buckshot.

As before, I fastened the rope to the tree.  Then, having tied my gun across my shoulders, with a piece of stout cord, I lowered myself over the edge of the Pit.  At this movement, Pepper, who had been eyeing my actions, watchfully, rose to his feet, and ran to me, with a half bark, half wail, it seemed to me, of warning.  But I was resolved on my enterprise, and bade him lie down.  I would much have liked to take him with me; but this was next to impossible, in the existing circumstances.  As my face dropped level with the Pit edge, he licked me, right across the mouth; and then, seizing my sleeve between his teeth, began to pull back, strongly.  It was very evident that he did not want me to go.  Yet, having made up my mind, I had no intention of giving up the attempt; and, with a sharp word to Pepper, to release me, I continued my descent, leaving the poor old fellow at the top, barking and crying like a forsaken pup.

Carefully, I lowered myself from projection to projection.  I knew that a slip might mean a wetting.

Reaching the entrance, I let go the rope, and untied the gun from my shoulders.  Then, with a last look at the sky—­which I noticed was clouding over, rapidly—­I went forward a couple of paces, so as to be shielded from the wind, and lit one of the candles.  Holding it above my head, and grasping my gun, firmly, I began to move on, slowly, throwing my glances in all directions.

For the first minute, I could hear the melancholy sound of Pepper’s howling, coming down to me.  Gradually, as I penetrated further into the darkness, it grew fainter; until, in a little while, I could hear nothing.  The path tended downward somewhat, and to the left.  Thence it kept on, still running to the left, until I found that it was leading me right in the direction of the house.