Simple folk avoided
speaking of the place save in a hushed whisper. It became a proverb
among the islanders when speaking of something outrageously improbable:
"Don't tell me! Such things only happen in the Cave of Mercury." When
someone disappeared from his house or hotel without leaving any trace
behind--it happened now and then--or when anything disreputable happened
to anyone, they always said "Try the Cave," or simply "Try Mercury."
The path had crumbled away long ago. Nobody went there, except in broad
daylight. It was as safe a place as you could desire, at night-time,
for a murder or a love-affair. Such was the Cave of Mercury.
Denis had gone to the spot one morning not long after his arrival. He
had climbed down the slippery stairs through that dank couloir or
funnel in the rock overhung with drooping maidenhair and ivy and
umbrageous carobs. He had rested on the little platform outside the
cavern's vineyard far below, and upwards, at the narrow ribbon of sky
overhead. Then he had gone within, to examine what was left of the old
masonry, the phallic column and other relics of the past.
Pages:
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269