ontinent, his cry
coming up to me against the wind, and the bo'sun shouted to us to all
have a care, and directly afterwards I smote at something that rose
silently above the edge of the cliff opposite to where I watched.

Perhaps a minute passed, and then there came shouts from all parts of the
hilltop, and I knew that the weed men were upon us, and in the same
instant there came two above the edge near me, rising with a ghostly
quietness, yet moving lithely. Now the first, I pierced somewhere in the
throat, and it fell backward; but the second, though I thrust it through,
caught my blade with a bunch of its tentacles, and was like to have
snatched it from me; but that I kicked it in the face, and at that,
being, I believe, more astonished than hurt, it loosed my sword, and
immediately fell away out of sight. Now this had taken, in all, no more
than some ten seconds; yet already I perceived so many as four others
coming into view a little to my right, and at that it seemed to me that
our deaths must be very near, for I knew not how we were to cope with the
creatures, coming as they were so boldly and with such rapidity. Yet, I
hesitated not, but ran at them, and now I thrust not; but cut at their
faces, and found this to be very effectual; for in this wise disposed I
of three in as many strokes; but the fourth had come right over the cliff
edge, and rose up at me upon its hinder parts, as had done those others
when the bo'sun had succored me. At that, I gave way, having a very
lively dread; but, hearing all about me the cries of conflict, and
knowing that I could expect no help, I made at the brute: then as it
stooped and reached out one of its bunches of tentacles, I sprang back,
and slashed at them, and immediately I followed this up by a thrust in
the stomach, and at that it collapsed into a writhing white ball, that
rolled this way and that, and so, in its agony, coming to the edge of the
cliff, it fell over, and I was left, sick and near helpless with the
hateful stench of the brutes.

Now by this time all the fires about the edges of the hill were sunken
into dull glowing mounds of embers; though that which burnt near to the
entrance of the tent was still of a good brightness; yet this helped us
but little, for we fought too far beyond the immediate circle of its
beams to have benefit of it. And still the moon, at which now I threw a
despairing glance, was no more than a ghostly shape behind the great bank
of cl