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KING: Well, I think I can condense things down some. Descending the hundreds of steps into the abyss goes mostly without incident--the only exception being when Barnabus hears what sounds to him like the flapping of massive wings. After frantically waiving their lanterns and torches, however, nothing is spotted. The steps end only partway down the cliff-face, at a tunnel going into the rock. This tunnel eventually leads to a wide cavern, bisected by a slow-moving river almost 50 yards wide. Although an ancient-looking boat is laying on the black-pebbled shore, the spelunkers decide to avoid the river and exit through another tunnel.
JOSHI: I realize you're attempting to hurry, but that doesn't excuse potentially vital omissions. It should be noted that, in the cavern where Konig and Gallowsong encountered the drifter, several stalagmites had been laboriously carved into monoliths--evidence, perhaps, that these caverns were the domain of an ancient civilization?
KING: Or perhaps just kids mounting a hoax. Anyway, the tunnel continues on for almost two miles before splitting into three. The righthand tunnel leads to a fissure almost 25 feet wide. Seeing no signs of rope or other attempts to cross, the protagonists deduce (correctly it turns out) that this was not the route chosen by Olivetti and Knight. Returning to the junction, the explorers take the path that heads "straight ahead" from their perspective. This tunnel eventually splits as well; one branch leads to a dead end, but the other leads to a pile of rubble blocking the way forward. A strange scraping sound can be heard from the other side. The explorers begin to shift some of the rubble to see how thick the rockfall is, and then a more rhythmic sound can be heard from the other side. The explorers return the sound and transmit a new pattern; it comes back to the them, and the conclusion is clear: a human being is trapped on the far side!
PATRICK: Lovecraft actually spends a great deal of time detailing the difficult decisions made as to how to best remove the rubble without creating a further cave-in. But suffice it to say, our amateur miners are lucky and make it through. And there, on the far side, lies Sister Francesca Olivetti--her foot trapped under a massive slab of rock. She's still alive, still conscious even, though her supplies are almost exhausted. What transpired, apparently, is that she was scouting ahead when the tunnel's ceiling collapsed, separating her from Knight. Knight went for help, and, of course, we know he managed to find an escape route--but not one that left him alive.
JOSHI: It should be noted that, dozens of yards further down the tunnel, another cave-in blocks the way. Olivetti mentions something about hearing "whispering" from that direction, but at this point it's fair to say she must be succumbing to shock.
CANNON: I don't know--she seems like a very sensible woman. Not at all what one would imagine a nun to be. She curses, wears trousers, and carries a pistol. Not exactly a convent-dweller if you ask me.
KING: This next scene is appropriately grisly. After several failed attempts to lift the slab off of Olivetti's foot, her rescuers devise a lever system sufficient to raise the slab just a few inches. It's enough that Olivetti can be pulled free, but Dr. Konig sees instantly that the foot is crushed and gangrenous. An amputation is in order!
PATRICK: And it's described in as much detail as you could desire, Stephen. But for our purposes, what's significant is that the field surgery is successful. Olivetti's rescuers even fashion a makeshift stretcher from canvas brought just for that purpose, and then return to the four-way junction. Only one path is untried. This leads to a steep slope full of strange, white crystals all over the ground and walls. Some of the crystals crack under the explorers weight, causing yet more cuts and abrasions. And then the chapter ends--an odd place, if you ask me.
BLOCH: I agree. Well, this is just a manuscript. Perhaps Lovecraft had planned to tack something onto the end after finishing subsequent chapters?
JOSHI: Before we finish for the night, I would like to draw your attention to what we have not learned. Who was the mysterious "Mrs. Dunham" who drew the protagonists to the Gilmore Farm at the beginning of the manuscript and set this entire chain of events in motion? What of the mysterious puzzle box, and the expert in Hyperborean language called in to give a translation? What will happen when Symmes finishes reading his mysterious book? And how does any of this relate to the mystery of the Harbingers?
PATRICK: An appropriate place to call it a night, gentleman.
8:47 MOTION TO ADJOURN [UNANIMOUS]
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