"A. E. Merritt - The Moon Pool" - читать интересную книгу автора (Merritt A. E)

the balance of the stones that formed it, like all the stones of the courtyard,
were rough and age-wornЧthis was as smooth, as even surfaced as though it had
just left the hands of the polisher.
"'It's a door!' exclaimed Stanton. 'It swings around in that little cup. That's
what makes the hollow so smooth.'
"'Maybe you're right,' I replied. 'But how the devil can we open it?'
"We went over the slab againЧpressing upon its edges, thrusting against its
sides. During one of those efforts I happened to look upЧand cried out. A foot
above and on each side of the corner of the grey rock's lintel was a slight
convexity, visible only from the angle at which my gaze struck it.
"We carried with us a small scaling-ladder and up this I went. The bosses were
apparently nothing more than chiseled curvatures in the stone. I laid my hand on
the one I was examining, and drew it back sharply. In my palm, at the base of my
thumb, I had felt the same shock that I had in touching the slab below. I put my
hand back. The impression came from a spot not more than an inch wide. I went
carefully over the entire convexity, and six times more the chill ran through my
arm. There were seven circles an inch wide in the curved place, each of which
communicated the precise sensation I have described. The convexity on the
opposite side of the slab gave exactly the same results. But no amount of
touching or of pressing these spots singly or in any combination gave the
slightest promise of motion to the slab itself.
"'And yetЧthey're what open it,' said Stanton positively.
"'Why do you say that?' I asked.
"'IЧdon't know,' he answered hesitatingly. 'But something tells me so. Throck,'
he went on half earnestly, half laughingly, 'the purely scientific part of me is
fighting the purely human part of me. The scientific part is urging me to find
some way to get that slab either down or open. The human part is just as
strongly urging me to do nothing of the sort and get away while I can!'
"He laughed againЧshamefacedly.
"'Which shall it be?' he askedЧand I thought that in his tone the human side of
him was ascendant.
"'It will probably stay as it isЧunless we blow it to bits,' I said.
"'I thought of that,' he answered, 'and I wouldn't dare,' he added soberly
enough. And even as I had spoken there came to me the same feeling that he had
expressed. It was as though something passed out of the grey rock that struck my
heart as a hand strikes an impious lip. We turned awayЧuneasily, and faced Thora
coming through a breach on the terrace.
"'Miss Edith wants you quick,' she beganЧand stopped. Her eyes went past me to
the grey rock. Her body grew rigid; she took a few stiff steps forward and then
ran straight to it. She cast herself upon its breast, hands and face pressed
against it; we heard her scream as though her very soul were being drawn from
herЧand watched her fall at its foot. As we picked her up I saw steal from her
face the look I had observed when first we heard the crystal music of
Nan-TauachЧthat unhuman mingling of opposites!"
CHAPTER IV
The First Vanishings
"WE CARRIED Thora back, down to where Edith was waiting. We told her what had
happened and what we had found. She listened gravely, and as we finished Thora
sighed and opened her eyes.
"'I would like to see the stone,' she said. 'Charles, you stay here with Thora.'