of
light around me. The glare from above (the sky showed only as a narrow
dull ribbon of blue) barely penetrated to the depths of the canon's
floor. But all about me there was a soft radiance, seeming to emanate
from the rocks themselves.

"The sides of the canon were shaggy and rough, beyond anything I had
ever seen. Huge bowlders, hundreds of feet in diameter, were embedded in
them. The bottom also was strewn with similar gigantic rocks.

"I surveyed this lonely waste for some time in dismay, not knowing in
what direction lay my goal. I knew that I was at the bottom of the
scratch, and by the comparison of its size I realized I was well started
on my journey.

"I have not told you, gentlemen, that at the time I marked the ring I
made a deeper indentation in one portion of the scratch and focused the
microscope upon that. This indentation I now searched for. Luckily I
found it, less than half a mile away--an almost circular pit, perhaps
five miles in diameter, with shining walls extending downwards into
blackness. There seemed no possible way of descending into it, so I sat
down near its edge to think out my plan of action.

"I realized now that I was faint and hungry, and whatever I did must be
done quickly. I could turn back to you, or I could go on. I decided to
risk the latter course, and took twelve more of the pills--three times
my original dose."

The Chemist paused for a moment, but his auditors were much too intent
to question him. Then he resumed in his former matter-of-fact tone.

"After my vertigo had passed somewhat--it was much more severe this
time--I looked up and found my surroundings growing at a far more rapid
rate than before. I staggered to the edge of the pit. It was opening up
and widening out at an astounding rate. Already its sides were becoming
rough and broken, and I saw many places where a descent would be
possible.

"The feeling of sleep that had formerly merely oppressed me, combined
now with my physical fatigue and the larger dose of the drug I had
taken, became almost intolerable. I yielded to it for a moment, lying
down on a crag near the edge of the pit. I must have become almost
immediately unconscious, and remained so for a considerable time. I can
remember a horrible sensation of sliding headlong for what seemed like
hours. I felt that I was sliding or falling downward. I tried to rouse
but could not. Then came absolute oblivion.

"When I recovered my senses I was lying p