thing, man nor beast, could come at us there. Yet, as may be supposed, we
felt not altogether secure; for there was that in the growling which now
filled the darkness, that seemed demoniac, and we knew not what horrid
Powers were abroad.

And so through the night the growling continued, seeming to be mighty
near unto us--aye! almost over our heads, and of a loudness far
surpassing all that had come to us on the previous night; so that I
thanked the Almighty that we had come into shelter in the midst of so
much fear.




III

The Thing That Made Search


Now at times, I fell upon sleep, as did most of the others; but, for the
most part, I lay half sleeping and half waking--being unable to attain to
true sleep by reason of the everlasting growling above us in the night,
and the fear which it bred in me. Thus, it chanced that just after
midnight, I caught a sound in the main cabin beyond the door, and
immediately I was fully waked. I sat me up and listened, and so became
aware that something was fumbling about the deck of the main cabin. At
that, I got to my feet and made my way to where the bo'sun lay, meaning
to waken him, if he slept; but he caught me by the ankle, as I stooped to
shake him, and whispered to me to keep silence; for he too had been aware
of that strange noise of something fumbling beyond in the big cabin.