There was nothing on the island at all,
except for the hole in its center, from which, no doubt, came the lava
that had formed it. It was on a slightly elevated hill, and looked as if
it had not erupted for many thousands of years. With nothing to do at
that moment except to get an idea of the island that I had landed on, I
walked over to it and knelt down beside it, peering blankly into its
depths. It seemed to be absolutely devoid of light, and, as often
happens, its darkness was mysterious to me, for I wondered what lay
hidden in it, and my curiosity got the better of my common sense. I
leaned slowly forward. Then, as I did so, I heard a loud and terrible
voice, personified in the crashing of the waves and the moaning of the
wind, and it said in a monotonous and unending refrain, "Enter." Nothing
more nor less than the continual repetition of that word. This alarmed
me, and as I did not want to do that, I began to stand upright and back
away from it, to return to my plane. But as I raised my knee from the
ground in order to stand, my other knee slipped under the increased
pressure, and in the ensuing instability, I completely lost my balance
and fell forward into the hole.
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