und, and
a thud as the stone doorway was rolled back into place.

The entrance was sealed. We were prisoners indeed!

"All right, now what?" gritted Correy. "God! If I ever get a hand
loose!"

Swiftly, each of us held above the head-like excrudescence atop the
globular body of the thing that held us, we were carried down a
widening rocky corridor, towards the source of the yellow light that
beat about us.

* * * * *

The passage led to a great cavern, irregular in shape, and apparently
possessed of numerous other outlets which converged here.

I am not certain as to the size of the cavern, save that it was great,
and that the roof was so high in most sections that it was lost in
shadow.

The great cavern was nearly filled with creatures similar to those
which were bearing us, and they fell back in orderly passage to permit
our conductors to pass.

I could see, now, that the hump atop each rounded body was a travesty
of a head, hairless, and without a neck. Their features were
particularly hideous, and I shall pass over a description as rapidly
as possible.

The eyes were round, and apparently lidless; a pale drab or bluff in
color. Instead of a nose, as, we understand the term, they had a
convoluted rosette in the center of the face, not unlike the olfactory
organ of a bat. Their ears were placed as are ours, but were of thin,
pale parchment, and hugged the side of the head tightly. Instead of a
mouth, there was a slightly depressed oval of fluttering skin near the
point where the head melted into the rounded body: the rapid
fluttering or vibration of this skin produced the whispering sound I
have already remarked.

The cavern, as I have said, was flooded with yellow light, which came
from a great column of fire near the center of the clear space. I had
no opportunity to inspect the exact arrangements but from what I did
see, I judged that this flame was fed by some sort of highly
inflammable substance, not unlike crude oil, except that it burned
clearly and without smoke. This substance was conducted to the font
from which the flame leaped by means of a large pipe of hollow reed or
wood.

At the far end of the cavern a procession entered from one of the
passages--nine figures similar to those which bore us, save that by
the greater darkness of their skin, and the wrinkles upon both face
and body, I judged these to be older than the rest. From the respect
with which they w