The Moon Pool by Abraham Merritt
page 20 of 402 (04%)
page 20 of 402 (04%)
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readiness for the return of our men the next day.
"We landed just before dusk, tired and ready for our cots. It was only a little after ten o'clock that Edith awakened me. "'Listen!' she said. 'Lean over with your ear close to the ground!' "I did so, and seemed to hear, far, far below, as though coming up from great distances, a faint chanting. It gathered strength, died down, ended; began, gathered volume, faded away into silence. "'It's the waves rolling on rocks somewhere,' I said. 'We're probably over some ledge of rock that carries the sound.' "'It's the first time I've heard it,' replied my wife doubtfully. We listened again. Then through the dim rhythms, deep beneath us, another sound came. It drifted across the lagoon that lay between us and Nan-Tauach in little tinkling waves. It was music--of a sort; I won't describe the strange effect it had upon me. You've felt it--" "You mean on the deck?" I asked. Throckmartin nodded. "I went to the flap of the tent," he continued, "and peered out. As I did so Stanton lifted his flap and walked out into the moonlight, looking over to the other islet and listening. I called to him. "'That's the queerest sound!' he said. He listened again. 'Crystalline! Like little notes of translucent glass. Like the bells of crystal on the sistrums of Isis at Dendarah Temple,' he added half-dreamily. We gazed intently at the island. Suddenly, on the |
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