W. Somerset Maugham

“ She was shaken from head to foot. The strangeness of this last horror had overcome her, and she could have shrieked with fright.
“It’s all right,” he said. “You need not be afraid.”
“Oh, what does it mean?”
“You must pluck up courage. We’re going now to Skene.”
She sprang to her feet, as though to get away from him; her heart beat wildly.
“No, I can’t; I’m frightened.”
“We must see what it means. We have no time to lose, or the morning will be upon us before we get back.”
Then she sought to prevent him.
“Oh, for God’s sake, don’t go, Arthur. Something awful may await you there. ”

“ The sound seemed extraordinarily near, and Susie drew back instinctively, for it appeared to come from her very side.
“There’s nothing here,” said Arthur. “It must be in the next room.”
“Oh, Arthur, let us go,” cried Susie. “I’m afraid to see what may be in store for us. It is nothing to us, and what we see may poison our sleep for ever.”
She looked appealingly at Dr. Porhoët. He was white and anxious. The heat of that place had made the sweat break out on his forehead. ”

“ Then quickly Arthur removed the covering from all the other jars but one; and in a flash of the eyes they saw abominations so awful that Susie had to clench her fists in order not to scream. There was one monstrous thing in which the limbs approached nearly to the human. It was extraordinarily heaped up, with fat tiny arms, little bloated legs, and an absurd squat body, so that it looked like a Chinese mandarin in porcelain. ”

“ He took hold of the right arm. He was convinced that it had been broken during that desperate struggle in the darkness. He felt it carefully and listened. He heard plainly the two parts of the bone rub against one another. The dead man’s arm was broken just in the place where he had broken it. Arthur stood up. He took one last look at his enemy. That vast mass of flesh lay heaped up on the floor in horrible disorder.
“Now that you have seen, will you come away?” said Susie, interrupting him. ”

“ Dr. Porhoët and Susie went in. Arthur carefully closed the door, and flashed the light of his lamp all round them. They stood in a large hall, the floor of which was scattered with the skins of lions that Haddo on his celebrated expedition had killed in Africa. There were perhaps a dozen, and their number gave a wild, barbaric note. In front of them a great oak staircase led to the upper floors.
“We must go through all the rooms,” said Arthur.
He did not expect to find Haddo till they came to the lighted attics, but it seemed needful nevertheless to pass right through the house on their way. ”

“ He trembled in every limb. Then Dr. Porhoët advanced with the lamp and held it forward. They looked down on the floor for the man who lay there dead. Susie gave a sudden cry of horror.
There was no one there.
Arthur stepped back in terrified surprise. There was no one in the room, living or dead, but the three friends. The ground sank under Susie’s feet, she felt horribly ill, and she fainted. When she awoke, seeming difficultly to emerge from an eternal night, Arthur was holding down her head. ”

“ Porhoët, she determined to make one more attempt. It was late at night, and they sat with open windows in the sitting-room of the inn. There was a singular oppressiveness in the air which suggested that a thunderstorm was at hand. Susie prayed for it; for she ascribed to the peculiar heat of the last few days much of Arthur’s sullen irritability.
“Arthur, you must tell us what you are going to do,” she said. “It is useless to stay here. We are all so ill and nervous that we cannot consider anything rationally. We want you to come away with us to-morrow.” ”

“ She stopped, trying to restrain her sobs; she dared not go on. But he seemed to know what was in her mind.
“I will take no risks because of you. I know that whether I live or die is not—a matter of indifference to you.” ”

“ They stood, all three of them, and Susie took in deep, joyful breaths of the sweet air of dawn. The whole land, spread at her feet, was clothed in the purple dimness that heralds day, and she exulted in its beauty. But she noticed that Arthur, unlike herself and Dr. Porhoët, did not look toward the east. His eyes were fixed steadily upon the place from which they had come. What did he look for in the darkness of the west? She turned round, and a cry broke from her lips, for the shadows there were lurid with a deep red glow.
“It looks like a fire,” she said.
“It is. ”

“ The emptiness seemed to make everything more terrifying. They felt that they were on the threshold of a great mystery, and Susie’s heart began to beat very fast. Arthur conducted his examination with the greatest method; he walked round each room carefully, looking for a door that might lead to a staircase ”