Something was creeping slowly towards him along the floor. It
was something dark and serpentine in shape, and it came from the
place where the partition bulged. He stooped down to examine it
with feelings of intense horror and repugnance, and he discovered
that it was moving toward him from the other side of the
wall. His eyes were fascinated, and for the moment he was unable to
move. Silently, slowly, from side to side like a thick worm, it
crawled forward into the room beneath his frightened eyes, until at
length he could stand it no longer and stretched out his arm to
touch it. But at the instant of contact he withdrew his hand with a
suppressed scream. It was sluggish—and it was warm! and he saw that
his fingers were stained with living crimson.
A second more, and Shorthous
