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Charliehadgotnearlyhomewhenhebegantoworryaboutadeepprospectholenearthetrailknownas\"Rosenhammer’sShaft。\"Hemustbecarefultoavoidit。Suddenlyhisfootslippedonapebble。Heclutchedunavailinglyatamanzanitaandrolledintoacircleofinkyblackness。
Rosenhammer’sShaft!Nowhewaslost，indeed。
But，no。Asheslidhecameagainstasturdylive—oakbushwhichheclutched，managingtostophisdescentintothenextworldforthetimebeing。Heeven，swungonelegoverawirylimb，andthereheclung，putteringsailors’argot，consideringhissins，androaringforhelpinhisbestfortissimotone。
Theshaftwassaidtobeahundredfeetdeep。Itwasfilledpartwaywithoilywater，andinhabitedbysnakesandmonstersofthesubterraneandeeps。Peoplehadfalleninanddrowned，andhadbeenknownnevertoriseagain。TheghostofaChinamanwhohadbeenmurderedandflungdown，wassaidtofloatupfromitsdepthsatnighttorangetheearth，seekingtheperpetratorofthefiendishdeed。