`We've got to go in at the charge this time,' said C. B. urgently. `The longer we wait, the worse it will get. They can't harm us as long as. we remain defiant and trust in the Lord. To tackle the Gippy I had to drop my cross at the bottom of the steps. I've got to get that; so you must give me a moment to snatch it up. I'm going in now. As I grab it I'll give a shout. Switch on all the lights, then come hell for leather after me.'
As he finished speaking, he ran down the steps. Stooping, he seized the broomstick cross, lifted it on high and cried, `Oh Lord be with us the lights flashed on. John leapt down beside him. Together they dashed forward.
They had fifty feet to cover. In the brief space that the lights had been out the huge toads had multiplied exceedingly. A company of them, dozens strong, now barred the way between the tables and either side of them.. From the roof a cloud of bats streaked down.
The first rush carried them fifteen paces. They were halfway along the crypt, but there they lost momentum and their footsteps faltered. The bats thudded into their bodies and dashed themselves against their faces. The toads spat venom which turned into clouds of greenish vapour. It had the awful stench of rotting corpses. In a few moments it had formed a thick barrier through which the altar could no longer be seen. The poisonous fumes it carried stung their eyes and made their throats feel raw.
`Satan, I defy thee!' cried C. B. `Satan, I defy thee!' And John chimed in
`Oh God, destroy our enemies! Dear God, destroy our enemies!'
Suddenly the babble of sound subsided to a muted, angry muttering. The clouds of poisonous vapour dissolved. The bats flopped helplessly upon the floor, and the toads wilted into weak, flabby, groveling creatures.
Again C. B. and John ran forward; but a new terror arose to halt them. The lights flickered twice, then dimmed almost to extinction. Ahead of them the floor began to glow with a dull, reddish light, and to heave like the swell of an oily pond. It seemed to be imbued with some weird malevolent life of its own. With the next steps they could feel its heat through the soles of their shoes, and wisps of smoke curled up from the leather. The flagstones had become red hot, and those in front of the altar were molten
For a moment they remained half crouching, shoulder to shoulder, their eyes nearly dazzled by the glare that came from the shimmering crucible that threatened to engulf them if they advanced another few steps. A blast of intense heat hit against their hands and faces; so that in another few seconds the sweat was streaming from them.
`Have faith, John! Have faith!' whispered C. B. `If we trust in the Lord we can walk unharmed through this fiery furnace. We must go forward boldly.'
Simultaneously they began to recite the Lord's Prayer and walk steadily towards the altar. Their shoes ceased to char and, although the stones about them continued to appear white hot, they no longer felt any heat on the soles of their feet.
As they reached the altar the glow of the stones faded. Only then did they become aware that some awful thing was materializing on the altar itself. The lights remained dimmed and out of the shadows immediately in front of them emerged a monster that made them blanch with fear. It had a woman's face set in the middle of a round, fleshy body. The face was beautiful, yet incredibly eviclass="underline" the body was covered with filthy suppurating sores and from it eight writhing, octopus like tentacles reached out to seize them.
Terror again gripped them as they sprang back to evade the groping tentacles. Then, recovering, himself, C. B. pulled the small bottle of Holy water from his pocket. Holding the cross aloft in his left hand, he tore the paper stopper from the bottle with his teeth and flung its contents at the demon.
The red lips of the woman's mouth opened and emitted a piercing scream. The tentacles threshed wildly. The leprous body suddenly exploded in a great puff of magenta coloured smoke. Its stench was so nauseating that both C. B. and John were seized with a fit of retching. When they could raise their heads again no trace of the awful thing remained upon the altar. They had just time for that one glance; then the dim lights flickered and went out, plunging that end of the crypt in total darkness.
Instantly they became aware that with the darkness had come a cessation of all sound. The voodoo drums, the horrid laughter, the snarling pandemonium made by the denizens of the Pit had given way, as at an order, to utter silence. There was something more frightening about the eerie stillness than the hideous noises that had preceded it.
Quite suddenly, too, the crypt had become as cold as the interior of an ice house.
With every nerve alert they waited, as though a paralysis had descended on them, riveting them there unable to move hand or foot. Then out of the blackness behind them came a clear silvery voice. It said
`I have always admired courage. You have proved yours; so I will give you that for which you came. You no longer have cause to be afraid. I have here the Pact which Henry Beddows signed with my servant Copely Syle. Turn round and you shall receive it as a free gift from me.'
`Don't look, John!' gasped C. B. `For God's sake don't turn round! Shut your ears to everything you hear and prise up the altar slab.'
As he spoke he lugged his torch from his pocket and shone it on the flat piece of stone. At that moment the voice came again, low and persuasive
`You foolish men. The Pact is not there. I have it here in my hand. For those who are not prepared to serve me willingly I have no use; and no one has ever accused me of meanness. I am not one to hold a man to his word when he regrets having given it. You may take the Pact back to Beddows and tell him that I release him from his bond.'
Ignoring the honeyed words, John forced the edge of the case opener under the slab and heaved upon it. The four foot long stone lifted a little. Another heave and a gap of a few inches showed below it: John dropped the heavy jemmy, got the fingers of both hands under the slab and prepared to exert all his strength in lifting it back like the lid of a great box.
Again the voice came, but its tone had changed. It now rang out like the clash of cold steel and was vibrant with menace.
`Stop!' it commanded. `I have allowed you to trifle with me long enough. I give you two minutes to leave my temple. Remain and I will make Hell gape open to receive you.'
With the sweat pouring from him in spite of the icy cold, John strove with all his might to raise the stone. It would not budge, and C. B. could not help him as he was holding the torch with one hand and the cross in the other.
Without warning, there came an ear splitting crash of thunder. The floor of the crypt heaved; its walls rocked. Throwing the arm with the hand that held the torch round John's shoulder, C. B. raised the cross high above both their heads and cried
`Oh Lord, defend us!'
There was a blinding flash. A fork of light streaked down through the roof striking, not them, but the centre of the altar slab, shattering it into a hundred fragments. God had intervened. Instantly a deafening din broke out. Cries, screams, moans and groans sounded from every direction, as the minions of Hell fled back into the dark underworld.
Still dazed, C. B. shone his torch down into the cavity now gaping where the altar stone had been. Among its fragments reposed a small, brass bound coffer. John pulled it out, snatched up his jemmy from the floor, and broke it open. It contained about twenty pieces of parchment. On all of them were several lines of writing in dried blood. Hastily John shuffled through them until he came on one signed `Henry Beddows'; then, with a sigh of relief, he crammed the whole lot into his pocket.
In the frightful stress and excitement of the last few moments they had scarcely been conscious that all the lights had come on again, or that big drops of rain were splashing upon them. Turning now, they saw that the crypt was as peaceful and empty as when they had entered it; then, on glancing up, they noticed that a three foot wide hole had been torn in the roof above the altar by the thunderbolt that had smashed it.