'
"In a few moments, we were all out of the door and racing up the stairs.
Tassoc turned into a long corridor, and we followed, shielding our
candles as we ran. The sound seemed to fill all the passage as we drew
near, until I had the feeling that the whole air throbbed under the power
of some wanton Immense Force--a sense of an actual taint, as you might
say, of monstrosity all about us.
"Tassoc unlocked the door; then, giving it a push with his foot, jumped
back, and drew his revolver. As the door flew open, the sound beat out at
us, with an effect impossible to explain to one who has not heard
it--with a certain, horrible personal note in it; as if in there in the
darkness you could picture the room rocking and creaking in a mad, vile
glee to its own filthy piping and whistling and hooning. To stand there
and listen, was to be stunned by Realization. It was as if someone showed
you the mouth of a vast pit suddenly, and said:--That's Hell. And you
knew that they had spoken the truth. Do you get it, even a little bit?
"I stepped back a pace into the room, and held the candle over my head,
and looked quickly 'round. Tassoc and his brother joined me, and the man
came up at the back, and we all held our candles high. I was deafened
with the shrill, piping hoon of the whistling; and then, clear in my
ear, something seemed to be saying to me:--'Get out of here--quick!
Quick! Quick!'
"As you chaps know, I never neglect that sort of thing.
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