not my reason argue in the old futile way from the little standard of
the known?

I only know that great column of figures ascended darkly into the sky
for what seemed a very long period of time, and with a very complete
measure of reality as most men are accustomed to gauge reality. Then
suddenly they were gone!

And, once they were gone and the immediate wonder of their great
presence had passed, fear came down upon me with a cold rush. The
esoteric meaning of this lonely and haunted region suddenly flamed up
within me and I began to tremble dreadfully. I took a quick look
round--a look of horror that came near to panic--calculating vainly ways
of escape; and then, realizing how helpless I was to achieve anything
really effective, I crept back silently into the tent and lay down again
upon my sandy mattress, first lowering the door-curtain to shut out the
sight of the willows in the moonlight, and then burying my head as
deeply as possible beneath the blankets to deaden the sound of the
terrifying wind.


III

As though further to convince me that I had not been dreaming, I
remember that it was a long time before I fell again into a troubled and
restless sleep; and even then only the upper crust of me slept, and
underneath there was something that never quite lost consciousness, but
lay alert and on the watch.

But this second time I jumped up with a genuine start of terror. It was