Luckily, the rope by which I had descended, was streaming into the opening, upon the inrushing waters.  Seizing the end, I knotted it securely ’round Pepper’s body, then, summoning up the last remnant of my strength, I commenced to swarm up the side of the cliff.  I reached the Pit edge, in the last stage of exhaustion.  Yet, I had to make one more effort, and haul Pepper into safety.

Slowly and wearily, I hauled on the rope.  Once or twice, it seemed that I should have to give up; for Pepper is a weighty dog, and I was utterly done.  Yet, to let go, would have meant certain death to the old fellow, and the thought spurred me to greater exertions.  I have but a very hazy remembrance of the end.  I recall pulling, through moments that lagged strangely.  I have also some recollection of seeing Pepper’s muzzle, appearing over the Pit edge, after what seemed an indefinite period of time.  Then, all grew suddenly dark.

XIII

THE TRAP IN THE GREAT CELLAR

I suppose I must have swooned; for, the next thing I remember, I opened my eyes, and all was dusk.  I was lying on my back, with one leg doubled under the other, and Pepper was licking my ears.  I felt horribly stiff, and my leg was numb, from the knee, downward.  For a few minutes, I lay thus, in a dazed condition; then, slowly, I struggled to a sitting position, and looked about me.

It had stopped raining, but the trees still dripped, dismally.  From the Pit, came a continuous murmur of running water.  I felt cold and shivery.  My clothes were sodden, and I ached all over.  Very slowly, the life came back into my numbed leg, and, after a little, I essayed to stand up.  This, I managed, at the second attempt; but I was very tottery, and peculiarly weak.  It seemed to me, that I was going to be ill, and I made shift to stumble my way toward the house.  My steps were erratic, and my head confused.  At each step that I took, sharp pains shot through my limbs.

I had gone, perhaps, some thirty paces, when a cry from Pepper, drew my attention, and I turned, stiffly, toward him.  The old dog was trying to follow me; but could come no further, owing to the rope, with which I had hauled him up, being still tied ’round his body, the other end not having been unfastened from the tree.  For a moment, I fumbled with the knots, weakly; but they were wet and hard, and I could do nothing.  Then, I remembered my knife, and, in a minute, the rope was cut.

How I reached the house, I scarcely know, and, of the days that followed, I remember still less.  Of one thing, I am certain, that, had it not been for my sister’s untiring love and nursing, I had not been writing at this moment.

When I recovered my senses, it was to find that I had been in bed for nearly two weeks.  Yet another week passed, before I was strong enough to totter out into the gardens.  Even then, I was not able to walk so far as the Pit.  I would have liked to ask my sister, how high the water had risen; but felt it was wiser not to mention the subject to her.  Indeed, since then, I have made a rule never to speak to her about the strange things, that happen in this great, old house.