AT THE TOWER AGAIN
ADELE went flying down the drive, intent only upon one object, to escape
from this horrible house. The gates were closed, the lodge was in
darkness, and she strove desperately to unfasten the iron catch, but it
held.
Looking back toward the oblong of light which represented the tower
door, she was dimly aware of a figure moving stealthily along the grass
that bordered each side of the roadway. For a moment she thought it was
Gregory Penne, and then the true explanation of that skulking shape came
to her, and she nearly dropped. It was Bhag!
She moved as quietly as she could along the side of the wall, creeping
from bush to bush, but he had seen her, and came in pursuit, moving
slowly, cautiously, as though he was not quite sure that she was
legitimate prey. Perhaps there was another gate, she thought, and
continued, glancing over her shoulder from time to time, and gripping
the little pistol in her hand with such intensity that it was slippery
with perspiration before she had gone a hundred yards.
Now she left the cover of the wall and came across a meadow, and at
first she thought that she had slipped her pursuer. But Bhag seldom went
into the open, and presently she saw him again. He was parallel with
her, walking under the wall, and showing no sign of hurry. Perhaps, she
thought, if she continued, he would drop his pursuit and go off. It
might be curiosity that kept him on her trail. But this hope was
disappointed. She crossed a stile and followed a path until she realized
it was bringing her nearer and nearer to the wall where her watcher was
keeping pace with her. As soon as she realized this, she turned abruptly
from the path, and found herself walking through dew-laden grasses. She
was wet to the knees before she had gone far, but she did not even know
this—Bhag had left cover and was following her into the open!
She wondered if the grounds were entirely enclosed by a wall, and was
relieved when she came to a low fence. Stumbling down a bank on to a
road which was evidently the eastern boundary of the property, she ran
at full speed, though where the road led she could not guess. Glancing
back, she saw, to her horror, that Bhag was following, yet making no
attempt to decrease the distance which separated them.
And then, far away, she saw the lights of a cottage. They seemed close
at hand, but were in reality more than two miles distant. With a sob of
thankfulness she turned from the road and ran up a gentle slope, only to
discover, to her dismay, when she reached the crest, that the lights
seemed as far away as ever. Looking back, she saw Bhag, his green eyes
gleaming in the darkness.
Where was she? Glancing round, she found an answer. Ahead and to the
left was the squat outline of old Griff Tower.
And then, for some reason, Bhag dropped his rôle of interested watcher,
and, with a dog-like growl, leapt at her. She flew upward toward the
tower, her breath coming in sobs, her heart thumping so that she felt
every moment she would drop from sheer exhaustion. A hand clutched at
her cloak and tore it from her. That gave her a moment’s respite. She
must face her enemy, or she herself must perish.
Spinning round, her shaking pistol raised, she confronted the monster,
who was growling and tearing at the clothing in his hand. Again he
crouched to spring, and she pressed the trigger. The unexpected loudness
of the explosion so startled her that she nearly dropped the pistol.
With a howl of anguish he fell, gripping at his wounded shoulder, but
rose again immediately. And then he began to move backward, watching her
all the time.
What should she do? In her present position he might creep from bush to
bush and pounce upon her at any moment. She looked up at the tower. If
she could reach the top! And then she remembered the ladder that Jack
Knebworth had left behind. But that would have been collected.
She moved stealthily, keeping her eye upon the ape, and though he was
motionless, she knew he was watching her. Then, groping in the grass,
her fingers touched the light ladder, and she lifted it without
difficulty and placed it against the wall. She had heard Jack say that
the ape could not have climbed the tower from the outside without
assistance, though it had been an easy matter, with the aid of the trees
growing against the wall inside, for him to get out.
Bhag was still visible; the dull glow of his eyes was dreadful to see.
With a wild run she reached the top of the ladder and began pulling it
up after her. Bhag crept nearer and nearer till he came to the foot of
the tower, made three ineffectual efforts to scale the wall and failed.
She heard his twitter of rage, and guided the ladder to the inside of
the tower.
For a long time they sat, looking at one another, the orang-outang and
the girl. And then Bhag crept away. She followed him as far as her keen
eyes could distinguish his ungainly shape, waiting until she was certain
he had gone, and then reached for the ladder. The lower rung must have
caught in one of the bushes below. She tugged, tugged again, tugged for
the third time, and it came away so smoothly that she lost her balance.
For a second she was holding the top of the wall with one hand, the
ladder with the other; then, half-sliding, half-tumbling, she came down
with a run, and picked herself up breathless. She could have laughed at
the mishap but for the eerie loneliness of her new surroundings. She
tried to erect the ladder again, but in the dark it was impossible to
get a firm foundation.
There must be small stones somewhere about, and she began to look out
for them. She reached the bottom of the circular depression, and pushing
aside a bush to make further progress, feeling all the time with her
feet for a suitable prop, suddenly she slipped. She was dropping down a
sloping shaft into the depths of the earth!