The sound of the THING climbing
out of the cellar was indeed uncanny--so uncanny that
Bridge discovered himself looking about for some means
of escape. His eyes fell upon the stairway leading to the
second floor.
"Quick!" he whispered. "Up the stairs! You go first;
I'll follow."
The Kid needed no second invitation. With a bound
he was half way up the rickety staircase; but a glance
ahead at the darkness above gave him pause while he
waited for Bridge to catch up with him. Coming more
slowly with his burden the man followed the boy, while
from below the clanking of the chain warned them that
the THING was already at the top of the cellar stairs.
"Flash the lamp down there," directed Bridge. "Let's
have a look at it, whatever it is."
With trembling hands The Oskaloosa Kid directed the
lens over the edge of the swaying and rotting bannister,
his finger slipped from the lighting button plunging
them all into darkness. In his frantic effort to find the
button and relight the lamp the worst occurred--he fum-
bled the button and the lamp slipped through his fin-
gers, falling over the bannister to the floor below. In-
stantly the sound of the dragging chain ceased; but the
silence was even more horrible than the noise which had
preceded it.
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