Chapter 6 Chapter Six

After the sun went down, the crescent moon, as slender as a silver sickle, disappeared.A dark cloud floated from the west, covering the last ray of light in the evening.The twilight rising from the ground slowly takes over the universe.The valley was shrouded in the vast night, and finally even the shadow of the castle could not be seen. Even though it was dark that night, there was no sign of meteor showers, storms or anything.This is luckier for Nick Deckard and his companions who are sleeping rough. There is not a single clump of trees on the dry Algal uplands.Only a bunch of low shrubs here and there can be seen on the ground.There was no way to find shelter below from the chill of the night.There were as many rocks as there needed to be, some half buried in the earth, some suspended in midair, and would roll down into the fir groves below at the slightest nudge.

In fact, in this stony place, only a kind of thick thorn called "Russian thorn" grows more luxuriantly.According to Élysée Recluse, the seeds of the plant were brought from the pelts of Moscow horses—a gift from the Russians after their triumphant conquest of Transylvania. Now it was time to find a place to make do for the night and to keep out the cold, as the temperature dropped very low at night at this altitude. "It's good now, just pick and choose... any discomfort is obvious!" Dr. Batak muttered again. "You're whining again!" Nick Decker said to him.

"Of course I'm going to complain! What a cozy place, and I don't know what to do with a cold or rheumatism?" What the old quarantine officer said was the truth.what!How he missed his cozy bedroom in the village of Welster, with the door shut, lying on the two-padded bed and the warmth of the covers! There are big rocks everywhere on the Algal Heights, but you must choose a sheltered place with a good orientation to block the biting southwest wind.Nick Decker chose such a place, and soon the doctor moved behind this large rock with a flat surface like a small table. This rock turned out to be a stone bench, hidden in the grass.This kind of stone bench is often seen on the roadside in Wallachia. Passers-by can sit on it. There is also a pot of water on it to quench their thirst. Farmers come to change the water every day.In the presence of Baron Rudolf de Golz, there was also a pitcher on this stone bench, and the servants took good care of it and refilled it in time.But at present, the jug is dirty, with a layer of dark green moss growing on it, and even if it is shaken slightly, it will shatter into dust.

At one end of the stone bench stood a granite pillar, which turned out to be a cross, and the arms were gone, leaving only the grooves in which the arms had been held, which were also indistinct.Because the doctor didn't believe in ghosts and gods, he didn't want to admit that the cross could protect him from ghosts.But he also has the common problem of many godless people, fear of ghosts appearing.Therefore, in Batak's view, the Devil Short is not far from here, even if it is causing trouble in the castle, no matter whether the secret door is closed, the drawbridge is pulled up, the city wall is high, and the moat is deep, it is not enough to stop it from running. Come out, as long as it wants to snap the necks of both of them.

The doctor shuddered at the thought of spending the night in such horrors.No!This is too harsh for a creature like man, not to mention that the strongest person cannot bear all these tortures. He suddenly remembered something, but it was too late, why didn't he think of it when he left the village?Today is Tuesday night, and on this day, people in the country usually stay behind closed doors after the sun goes down.We all know that Tuesday is a haunted day.According to legend, if you go out that day, you will definitely bump into ghosts and ghosts.Therefore, after sunset on Tuesday, no one dared to wander in the streets and alleys.But now Doctor Batak is not only away from home, but also next to the haunted castle two to three kilometers away from the village!In this ghost place, he has to stay until dawn... Besides, when will it be dawn!This is really trying a ghost!

The doctor was thinking wildly, but he saw the forester sip his wine and calmly took a piece of cold meat out of his bag.Better, he thought, be like the forest ranger.So I also ate, a goose leg, a large piece of bread, and Arabic wine. If you don’t eat so much, you won’t be able to restore your strength.Although he had a full stomach, he was still frightened and restless mentally. "Now let's go to bed," said Nick Decker, who had put his bag under the rock. "Sleep, Ranger!" "Good night, doctor." "Good night, that's easy to say, I think it's going to be a bad night..."

Nick Decker was in no mood to talk to him.Due to his occupation, he has long been used to sleeping in the woods.He leaned on the stone bench as much as possible, and soon fell asleep.The doctor heard the regular snoring of his companion, and he could only complain in a low voice alone. It was impossible for the doctor to plug his ears and close his eyes, even for a few minutes.Troubled by insomnia, all kinds of weird phantoms kept appearing in his mind.What did he want to see staring at the thick night?See everything, but see nothing.Blurred shadows all around, clouds in the sky, barely recognizable silhouettes of castles.The stones on the plateau twirled violently, as if in a saraband dance.If the wobbling rock rolled down the hillside and hit the two daredevils, they would be crushed to pieces right before the gate of the old castle.Who told them to sneak into the castle in vain, this is absolutely not allowed!

Poor doctor, he stood up and pricked up his ears to the sound echoing in the valley, disturbing murmurs, like the murmur of water, and like moans and sighs.He heard the sound of night owls flapping their wings violently against the rocks, half-dog, half-woman vampires coming out to patrol, two or three pairs of sad gray cuckoos sighing like crying, the doctor's muscles tensed, his body trembled, and he broke out in cold sweat. The long time passed slowly like this, and finally stayed up until midnight!If Dr. Batak could talk and whine from time to time, he would feel less frightened.But Nick Decker was sleeping, and sleeping soundly.

Midnight - the creepiest time, is the time of ghosts, the time of ghosts. what happened? The doctor had just stood up, wondering if he was having a nightmare or just waking up. Heaven, he thought he saw—no!I did see it—grotesque objects, illuminated by a ghostly will-o'-the-wisp, flying from one end of the sky to the other, bobbing and sinking with the clouds.They seemed to be snake-tailed dragons, giant-winged horse eagles, sea monsters, great vampires, and they seemed to rush down to catch him in their huge claws and swallow him in their stomachs. Then, everything on the Algal Heights, including the rocks and the trees below, all moved.The rapid sound of the bell came to his ears clearly.

"The bells..." he whispered, "the bells in the castle!" yes!It was from the dilapidated chapel in the old castle that the bell came, and not from Vulcan, for the wind would only send it in the opposite direction. Right now, the bell is ringing more and more urgently... Is the hand ringing the bell mourning for the dead?impossible!It was a wake-up call, and the rush of bells echoed in the rolling hills on the Transylvanian frontier. Hearing this terrifying trill, an uncontrollable worry, an irresistible fear, and an indescribable horror seized him, and Doctor Batak's whole body twitched, and chills hit his whole body.

The rangers were also awakened by the terrible sound of bells flying.He stood up suddenly, and the doctor was already curled up in a ball. Nick Deckard pricked up his ears, his eyes trying to pierce the thick night covering the castle. "The bell! . . . the bell! . . . . " the doctor went on and on. "It must be the devil Schort's ringing! . . . " So, poor Batak, he believes in the devil more than ever, and he's terrified! The forester stood still and did not answer him. Suddenly, there was a shrill whistling sound that shook the heavens and earth, like the hissing of a ship's whistle when it entered the port.Immediately afterwards, a beam of strong light shot out, illuminating the sky and the earth, and the universe seemed to be collapsing amidst deafening cries. Then, a light shot out from the central tower, very dazzling.This beam of light pierced the night sky, making people unable to open their eyes.What kind of light source can produce such a strong light that it shines like daylight on the Algal Heights.From what great furnace did this light shine, reddening the rocks and staining them with a frightful bluish-white? "Nick... Nick..." the doctor yelled, "Look at me!... Am I a zombie like you?..." Really, the forest ranger and he looked like a dead body, with a pale face, dull eyes, deep-set eye sockets, dark green cheeks mixed with gray and white spots, and hair like moss growing from the head of a hanged ghost in legend ... What he saw and heard made Nick Deckard dumbfounded.The doctor was terrified, his muscles tightened, his hairs stood on end, his pupils dilated, and his body stiffened and convulsed. Just as Hugo, the author of "The Collection of Jingguan", wrote, he "breathed the smell of fear!" One minute, this terrible phenomenon continued for another minute.Then the strange light gradually dimmed, and the roar died away.The Algal Heights returned to tranquility, hidden in the deep night. The two fell asleep.The doctor was stunned, and the forest ranger stood leaning on the stone bench, waiting for the dawn. What was Nick Deck thinking about what was so clearly supernatural before him?Will this shake his resolve?Will he still persist in his reckless adventure?Of course, he said that he wanted to enter the tower of the ancient castle... But coming to this insurmountable wall aroused the anger of the elves and ghosts, and caused the chaos just now. Isn't all this enough?If he went back to the village, who would blame him for breaking his promise to enter this devil's castle and finish his stupid work? Suddenly, the doctor rushed up to him, grabbed his hand, pulled him hard, and repeated in a buzzing voice: "Go!...go!..." "No!" Nick Decker replied. This time he grabbed the doctor, who collapsed to the ground exhausted from the last effort. The night is finally over.Neither the forest ranger nor the doctor realized that the time had flown by and the sun had already ushered in.How they passed the long hours before the first light of dawn, their minds were blank. For a moment a rose-coloured band emerged from the Parry Ridge at the edge of the forest across the River Hill.The sky has a white belly color, and the sky in the distance is like zebra skin with light and dark alternates. Nick Deckard turned to the castle.The outline of the castle became clearer and clearer, and the fog rushed towards the Vulkan Pass, and the shadow of the tower appeared in the sea of ​​fog.Churches, verandahs, and fences also appeared.At last the beech tree on the turret was seen clearly, its leaves rustling in the soft east wind. The castle is still the same as usual, nothing has changed.The great clock and the weather-beacon of feudal times stood still.There was no smoke in the tower, and the iron-barred windows remained stubbornly shut. A few crows flew freely above the platform, making a few crisp cries. Nick Deck turned his gaze to the city gate.The drawbridge was pulled up and propped in the door opening, sealing the hidden door.The stone pillars on both sides of the secret door are engraved with the emblem of the Baron de Golz family. Is the ranger still determined to see through to the end of this expedition? Yes, his decision will not be changed by the strange events of last night.Walk the talk, as we all know, this is his credo. Neither the personal warning voices in the "King Mathias Hotel" nor the incomprehensible voices he heard and the dazzling beam of light he saw at night could prevent him from climbing over the castle wall.It would only take an hour to walk through the verandas and visit the main tower, and then, having fulfilled his promise, he would be on his way home again, probably by midnight. Dr. Batak has long since become a falling apart machine, with neither strength nor will to resist.Totally at the mercy of others.If he stumbles and falls, he cannot get up by himself.Last night's terror had made him dull.When the forester pointed to the castle and said to him: "Let's go!" He didn't object either. It was daylight and the doctor could have returned to the village without fear of getting lost in the woods of Mount Pleza.You don't have to be grateful that he stayed with Nick Deckard.He didn't abandon his companion to go back, just because he had completely lost his judgment at the moment, and he just had a body without a soul.So he let the forest rangers drag him to the moat. Except for the secret door, is it possible to enter the castle from other places?This is exactly what Nick Deckard had to figure out first. There were no gaps in the walls, no collapses or cracks to drill through.These ancient city walls are so well preserved, which really surprised the forest rangers, probably because of the thick walls. The battlements that climbed from the wall to the top did not look realistic, because the wall was more than forty feet high from the bottom of the ditch.It seems that the forest rangers encountered insurmountable difficulties at the foot of the Carpathian fortress. There is a gun hole on the top of the secret door, or a gun hole to be precise, which was used to mount artillery in the past.That's both lucky and unlucky for Nick Deckard.But it should not be difficult for a man who is agile and strong to climb up to the hole by grabbing a cable that hangs from the drawbridge to the ground.The width of the blast hole can be drilled through, unless there are iron bars inside.In this way, Nick Deckard can enter the castle. The forest ranger saw at a glance that there was no other way, so he dragged the demented doctor, and the two climbed down the slope of the ditch. The two soon reached the bottom of the ditch and found stones lying among the weeds.I just don't know how to settle down, maybe there are countless poisonous snakes and beasts lurking in the wet grass. Parallel to the city wall, there is a ditch dug before, which is almost completely dry now.Just one step across. Nick Deckard was still full of energy and clear-headed, and the doctor followed him mechanically, like an animal on a leash.After passing the ditch, the forest ranger walked twenty steps along the corner of the wall, and stopped under the secret door, where a section of iron chain hung down.If he used both hands and feet, he should be able to climb easily to the stone ornament protruding from the embankment. Apparently, Nick Deckard had no intention of forcing Dr. Tucker to climb the wall with him.Such a stupid person can't climb it at all.He just shook the cow a few times to let him understand, and told him to stay below and not move. But when the doctor found himself alone, he immediately regained a little consciousness.He understood, and as he looked, he caught sight of his companion a dozen feet above the ground, when he cried out in a trembling voice: "Stop climbing...Nick...stop climbing!" The ranger didn't listen to him at all. "Come back...come back...or I'm leaving!" the doctor moaned, and finally stood up after struggling for a long time. "You go!" Nick Dyke replied. He grasped the iron chain and continued to climb upwards. Dr. Batak was so frightened that he wanted to leave immediately, thinking that he would climb up the slope, climb to the high ground, and hurry back to the village... God, strange things, last night's is a piece of cake compared to it! ——He couldn't move...Both feet seemed to be clamped in a vise, nailed to the ground...Can he move one first and then the other? ……no! ...the heel and sole of the boot are glued together...the doctor stepped on the mechanism of the trap? . . . he panicked and couldn't figure it out . . . maybe the spikes in his shoes had caught him. Whatever the reason, the poor man was immobilized... he was riveted to the ground... he could not even cry out; he just waved his hands in despair... Trapped, as if its bloody mouth popped out of the ground... Nick Deckard had climbed to the secret door, and he had just grabbed the hook at the top of the drawbridge... Suddenly he let out a scream, as if struck by lightning, and fell back. The last bit of vague consciousness didn't allow him to drop the iron chain, so he slid down along it and rolled to the bottom of the ditch. "That voice had warned me that disaster would come my way!" he muttered, fainting.