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The Voice in the Night........................................................................................................................................1

William Hope Hodgson...........................................................................................................................1

IT WAS a dark, starless night. We were becalmed in the Northern Pacific. Our exact position I do not know;

for the sun had been hidden during the course of a weary, breathless week, by a thin haze which had seemed

to float above us, about the height of our mastheads, at whiles descending and shrouding the surrounding sea.

With there being no wind, we had steadied the tiller, and I was the only man on deck. The crew, consisting of

two men and a boy, were sleeping forrard in their den; while Willmy friend, and the master of our little

The cry was so unexpected that I gave no immediate answer, because of my surprise.

It came againa voice curiously throaty and inhuman, calling from somewhere upon the dark sea away on

"Hullo!" I sung out, having gathered my wits somewhat. "What are you? What do you want?"

"You need not be afraid," answered the queer voice, having probably noticed some trace of confusion in my

The pause sounded oddly; but it was only afterwards that it came back to me with any significance.

"Why don't you come alongside, then?" I queried somewhat snappishly; for I liked not his hinting at my

"What do you mean?" I asked, growing more and more astonished. "Why not safe? Where are you?"

I listened for a moment; but there came no answer. And then, a sudden indefinite suspicion, of I knew not

what, coming to me, I stepped swiftly to the binnacle, and took out the lighted lamp. At the same time, I

knocked on the deck with my heel to waken Will. Then I was back at the side, throwing the yellow funnel of

light out into the silent immensity beyond our rail. As I did so, I heard a slight, muffled cry, and then the

sound of a splash as though someone had dipped oars abruptly. Yet I cannot say that I saw anything with

certainty; save, it seemed to me, that with the first flash of the light, there had been something upon the

But there came only the indistinct sounds of a boat being pulled away into the night.

I told him the queer thing which had happened. He put several questions; then, after a moment's silence, he

From a long distance away there came back to us a faint reply, and my companion repeated his call.

Presently, after a short period of silence, there grew on our hearing the muffled sound of oars; at which Will

"I'm damned if I will," I muttered; but Will told me to do as the voice bade, and I shoved it down under the

"Come nearer," he said, and the oarstrokes continued. Then, when apparently some halfdozen fathoms

"Come alongside," exclaimed Will. "There's nothing to be frightened of aboard here!"

"What's to do with you," I burst out, "that you're so infernally afraid of the light?"

"See here, Mister," he said, "this is a pretty queer business, you coming upon us like this, right out in the

middle of the blessed Pacific. How are we to know what sort of a hankypanky trick you're up to? You say

there's only one of you. How are we to know, unless we get a squint at youeh? What's your objection to the

As he finished, I heard the noise of the oars again, and then the voice came; but now from a greater distance,

"I am sorrysorry! I would not have troubled you, only I am hungry, andso is she."

The voice died away, and the sound of the oars, dipping irregularly, was borne to us.

"Stop!" sung out Will. "I don't want to drive you away. Come back! We'll keep the light hidden, if you don't

"Shove that lamp back in the binnacle," said Will; then he leaned over the rail and listened. I replaced the

lamp, and came back to his side. The dipping of the oars ceased some dozen yards distant.

"Won't you come alongside now?" asked Will in an even voice. "I have had the lamp put back in the

"II cannot," replied the voice. "I dare not come nearer. I dare not even pay you for thethe provisions."

"That's all right," said Will, and hesitated. "You're welcome to as much grub as you can take" Again he

"You are very good," exclaimed the voice. "May God, Who understands everything, reward you" It broke

"I know not its name," returned the voice. "I would to God!" it began, and checked itself as suddenly.

"No!" said the voice, with extraordinary emphasis. "My God! No!" There was a moment's pause; then it

"I am a forgetful brute," exclaimed Will. "Just wait a minute, whoever you are, and I will bring you up

In a couple of minutes he was back again, and his arms were full of various edibles. He paused at the rail.

"NoI dare not,' replied the voice, and it seemed to me that in its tones I detected a note of stifled

cravingas though the owner hushed a mortal desire. It came to me then in a flash, that the poor old creature

out there in the darkness, was suffering for actual need of that which Will held in his arms; and yet, because

of some unintelligible dread, refraining from dashing to the side of our little schooner, and receiving it. And

with the lightninglike conviction, there came the knowledge that the Invisible was not mad; but sanely

"Damn it, Will!" I said, full of many feelings, over which predominated a vast sympathy. "Get a box. We

This we didpropelling it away from the vessel, out into the darkness, by means of a boathook. In a minute,

a slight cry from the Invisible came to us, and we knew that he had secured the box.

A little later, he called out a farewell to us, and so heartful a blessing, that I am sure we were the better for it.

"Wait," I replied. "I think somehow he'll come back. He must have been badly needing that food."

And so the time slipped awayan hour, another, and still Will stayed with me; for the queer adventure had

The third hour was three parts through, when we heard again the sound of oars across the silent ocean.

The dipping of the oars grew nearer, and I noted that the strokes were firmer and longer. The food had been

They came to a stop a little distance off the broadside, and the queer voice came again to us through the

Will began to make some reply, in a puzzled voice; but became confused, and broke off short. I said nothing.

I was wondering at the curious pauses, and, apart from my wonder, I was full of a great sympathy.

"Weshe and I, have talked, as we shared the result of God's tenderness and yours"

"I beg of you not toto belittle your deed of Christian charity this night," said the voice. "Be sure that it has

"We have spoken together upon that whichwhich has befallen us. We had thought to go out, without

telling any, of the terror which has come into ourlives. She is with me in believing that tonight's

happenings are under a special ruling, and that it is God's wish that we should tell to you all that we have

"Ah!" I exclaimed involuntarily. "She left Newcastle for 'Frisco some six months ago, and hasn't been heard

"Yes," answered the voice. "But some few degrees to the North of the line she was caught in a terrible storm,

and dismasted. When the day came, it was found that she was leaking badly, and, presently, it falling to a

calm, the sailors took to the boats, leavingleaving a young ladymy fianc eand myself upon the

"We were below, gathering together a few of our belongings, when they left. They were entirely callous,

through fear, and when we came up upon the deck, we saw them only as small shapes afar off upon the

horizon. Yet we did not despair, but set to work and constructed a small raft. Upon this we put such few

matters as it would hold including a quantity of water and some ship's biscuit. Then, the vessel being very

"It was later, when I observed that we seemed to be in the way of some tide or current, which bore us from

the ship at an angle; so that in the course of three hours, by my watch, her hull became invisible to our sight,

her broken masts remaining in view for a somewhat longer period. Then, towards evening, it grew misty, and

so through the night. The next day we were still encompassed by the mist, the weather remaining quiet.

"For four days we drifted through this strange haze, until, on the evening of the fourth day, there grew upon

our ears the murmur of breakers at a distance. Gradually it became plainer, and, somewhat after midnight, it

appeared to sound upon either hand at no very great space. The raft was raised upon a swell several times,

"When the morning came, we found that we were in a sort of great lagoon; but of this we noticed little at the

time; for close before us, through the enshrouding mist, loomed the hull of a large sailingvessel. With one

accord, we fell upon our knees and thanked God; for we thought that here was an end to our perils. We had

"The raft drew near to the ship, and we shouted on them to take us aboard; but none answered. Presently the

raft touched against the side of the vessel, and, seeing a rope hanging downwards, I seized it and began to

climb. Yet I had much ado to make my way up, because of a kind of grey, lichenous fungus which had seized

"I reached the rail and clambered over it, on to the deck. Here I saw that the decks were covered, in great

patches, with grey masses, some of them rising into nodules several feet in height; but at the time I thought

less of this matter than of the possibility of there being people aboard the ship. I shouted; but none answered.

Then I went to the door below the poop deck. I opened it, and peered in. There was a great smell of staleness,

so that I knew in a moment that nothing living was within, and with the knowledge, I shut the door quickly;

"I went back to the side where I had scrambled up. Mymy sweetheart was still sitting quietly upon the raft.

Seeing me look down she called up to know whether there were any aboard of the ship. I replied that the

vessel had the appearance of having been long deserted; but that if she would wait a little I would see whether

there was anything in the shape of a ladder by which she could ascend to the deck. Then we would make a

search through the vessel together. A little later, on the opposite side of the decks, I found a rope sideladder.

"Together we explored the cabins and apartments in the after part of the ship; but nowhere was there any sign

of life. Here and there within the cabins themselves, we came across odd patches of that queer fungus; but

"In the end, having assured ourselves that the after portion of the vessel was empty, we picked our ways to

the bows, between the ugly grey nodules of that strange growth; and here we made a further search which

"This being now beyond any doubt, we returned to the stern of the ship and proceeded to make ourselves as

comfortable as possible. Together we cleared out and cleaned two of the cabins: and after that I made

examination whether there was anything eatable in the ship. This I soon found was so, and thanked God in

my heart for His goodness. In addition to this I discovered the whereabouts of the freshwater pump, and

having fixed it I found the water drinkable, though somewhat unpleasant to the taste.

"For several days we stayed aboard the ship, without attempting to get to the shore. We were busily engaged

in making the place habitable. Yet even thus early we became aware that our lot was even less to be desired

than might have been imagined; for though, as a first step, we scraped away the odd patches of growth that

studded the floors and walls of the cabins and saloon, yet they returned almost to their original size within the

space of twentyfour hours, which not only discouraged us, but gave us a feeling of vague unease.

"Still we would not admit ourselves beaten, so set to work afresh, and not only scraped away the fungus, but

soaked the places where it had been, with carbolic, a canfull of which I had found in the pantry. Yet, by the

end of the week the growth had returned in full strength, and, in addition, it had spread to other places, as

"On the seventh morning, my sweetheart woke to find a small patch of it growing on her pillow, close to her

face. At that, she came to me, so soon as she could get her garments upon her. I was in the galley at the time

"Come here, John,' she said, and led me aft. When I saw the thing upon her pillow I shuddered, and then and

there we agreed to go right out of the ship and see whether we could not fare to make ourselves more

"Hurriedly we gathered together our few belongings, and even among these I found that the fungus had been

at work; for one of her shawls had a little lump of it growing near one edge. I threw the whole thing over the

"The raft was still alongside, but it was too clumsy to guide, and I lowered down a small boat that hung

across the stern, and in this we made our way to the shore. Yet, as we drew near to it, I became gradually

aware that here the vile fungus, which had driven us from the ship, was growing riot. In places it rose into

horrible, fantastic mounds, which seemed almost to quiver, as with a quiet life, when the wind blew across

them. Here and there it took on the forms of vast fingers, and in others it just spread out flat and smooth and

treacherous. Odd places, it appeared as grotesque stunted trees, seeming extraordinarily kinked and

"At first, it seemed to us that there was no single portion of the surrounding shore which was not hidden

beneath the masses of the hideous lichen; yet, in this, I found we were mistaken; for somewhat later, coasting

along the shore at a little distance, we descried a smooth white patch of what appeared to be fine sand, and

there we landed. It was not sand. What it was I do not know. All that I have observed is that upon it the

fungus will not grow; while everywhere else, save where the sandlike earth wanders oddly, pathwise, amid

the grey desolation of the lichen, there is nothing but that loathsome greyness.

"It is difficult to make you understand how cheered we were to find one place that was absolutely free from

the growth, and here we deposited our belongings. Then we went back to the ship for such things as it seemed

to us we should need. Among other matters, I managed to bring ashore with me one of the ship's sails, with

which I constructed two small tents, which, though exceedingly roughshaped, served the purpose for which

they were intended. In these we lived and stored our various necessities, and thus for a matter of some four

weeks all went smoothly and without particular unhappiness. Indeed, I may say with much of

"It was on the thumb of her right hand that the growth first showed. It was only a small circular spot, much

like a little grey mole. My God! how the fear leapt to my heart when she showed me the place. We cleansed

it, between us, washing it with carbolic and water. In the morning of the following day she showed her hand

to me again. The grey warty thing had returned. For a little while, we looked at one another in silence. Then,

still wordless, we started again to remove it. In the midst of the operation she spoke suddenly.

"'What's that on the side of your face, dear?' Her voice was sharp with anxiety. I put my hand up to feel.

"'There! Under the hair by your ear. A little to the front a bit.' My finger rested upon the place, and then I

"'Let us get your thumb done first,' I said. And she submitted, only because she was afraid to touch me until it

was cleansed. I finished washing and disinfecting her thumb, and then she turned to my face. After it was

finished we sat together and talked awhile of many things for there had come into our lives sudden, very

terrible thoughts. We were, all at once, afraid of something worse than death. We spoke of loading the boat

with provisions and water and making our way out on to the sea; yet we were helpless, for many causes,

andand the growth had attacked us already. We decided to stay. God would do with us what was His will.

"A month, two months, three months passed and the places grew somewhat, and there had come others. Yet

we fought so strenuously with the fear that its headway was but slow, comparatively speaking.

"Occasionally we ventured off to the ship for such stores as we needed. There we found that the fungus grew

persistently. One of the nodules on the maindeck became soon as high as my head.

"We had now given up all thought or hope of leaving the island. We had realized that it would be

unallowable to go among healthy humans, with the things from which we were suffering.

"With this determination and knowledge in our minds we knew that we should have to husband our food and

water; for we did not know, at that time, but that we should possibly live for many years.

"This reminds me that I have told you that I am an old man. Judged by the years this is not so. Butbut"

"As I was saying, we knew that we should have to use care in the matter of food. But we had no idea then

how little food there was left of which to take care. It was a week later that I made the discovery that all the

other bread tankswhich I had supposed fullwere empty, and that (beyond odd tins of vegetables and

meat, and some other matters) we had nothing on which to depend, but the bread in the tank which I had

"After learning this I bestirred myself to do what I could, and set to work at fishing in the lagoon; but with no

success. At this I was somewhat inclined to feel desperate until the thought came to me to try outside the

"Here, at times, I caught odd fish; but so infrequently that they proved of but little help in keeping us from the

It seemed to me that our deaths were likely to come by hunger, and not by the growth of the thing which had

"We were in this state of mind when the fourth month wore out. When I made a very horrible discovery. One

morning, a little before midday. I came off from the ship with a portion of the biscuits which were left. In the

"'What is it, my dear?' I called out as I leapt ashore. Yet, on hearing my voice, she seemed confused, and,

turning, slyly threw something towards the edge of the little clearing. It fell short, and a vague suspicion

having arisen within me, I walked across and picked it up. It was a piece of the grey fungus.

"'My dear! My dear!' I said, and could say no more. Yet at words she broke down and cried bitterly.

Gradually, as she calmed, I got from her the news that she had tried it the preceding day, andand liked it. I

got her to promise on her knees not to touch it again, however great our hunger. After she had promised she

told me that the desire for it had come suddenly, and that, until the moment of desire, she had experienced

"Later in the day, feeling strangely restless, and much shaken with the thing which I had discovered, I made

my way along one of the twisted pathsformed by the white, sandlike substancewhich led among the

fungoid growth. I had, once before, ventured along there; but not to any great distance. This time, being

"Suddenly I was called to myself by a queer hoarse sound on my left. Turning quickly I saw that there was

movement among an extraordinarily shaped mass of fungus, close to my elbow. It was swaying uneasily, as

though it possessed life of its own. Abruptly, as I stared, the thought came to me that the thing had a

grotesque resemblance to the figure of a distorted human creature. Even as the fancy flashed into my brain,

there was a slight, sickening noise of tearing, and I saw that one of the branchlike arms was detaching itself

from the surrounding grey masses, and coming towards me. The head of the thinga shapeless grey ball,

inclined in my direction. I stood stupidly, and the vile arm brushed across my face. I gave out a frightened

cry, and ran back a few paces. There was a sweetish taste upon my lips where the thing had touched me. I

licked them, and was immediately filled with an inhuman desire. I turned and seized a mass of the fungus.

Then more andmore. I was insatiable. In the midst of devouring, the remembrance of the morning's

discovery swept into my mazed brain. It was sent by God. I dashed the fragment I held to the ground. Then,

utterly wretched and feeling a dreadful guiltiness, I made my way back to the little encampment.

"I think she knew, by some marvellous intuition which love must have given, so soon as she set eyes on me.

Her quiet sympathy made it easier for me, and I told her of my sudden weakness; yet omitted to mention the

extraordinary thing which had gone before. I desired to spare her all unnecessary terror.

"But, for myself, I had added an intolerable knowledge, to breed an incessant terror in my brain; for I doubted

not but that I had seen the end of one of those men who had come to the island in the ship in the lagoon; and

"Thereafter we kept from the abominable food, though the desire for it had entered into our blood. Yet our

drear punishment was upon us; for, day by day, with monstrous rapidity, the fungoid growth took hold of our

poor bodies. Nothing we could do would check it materially, and soand sowe who had been human,

"And day by day the fight is more dreadful, to withstand the hungerlust for the terrible lichen.

"A week ago we ate the last of the biscuit, and since that time I have caught three fish. I was out here fishing

tonight when your schooner drifted upon me out of the mist. I hailed you. You know the rest, and may God,

out of His great heart, bless you for your goodness to aa couple of poor outcast souls."

There was the dip of an oaranother. Then the voice came again, and for the last time, sounding through the

The sun flung a stray beam across the hidden sea; pierced the mist dully, and lit up the receding boat with a

gloomy fire. Indistinctly I saw something nodding between the oars. I thought of a spongea great, grey

nodding sponge The oars continued to ply. They were greyas was the boatand my eyes searched a

moment vainly for the conjunction of hand and oar. My gaze flashed back to thehead. It nodded forward as

the oars went backward for the stroke. Then the oars were dipped, the boat shot out of the patch of light, and