Primal Spillane: Early Stories 1941-1942

Satan Himself

Joe Cleerey was a curious fellow. For six years he had lived under the bracing sun of the Arizona desert, walking the hot sands with his pack mule in his search for gold. About once a month he ran across another person, that being the only time he got any news about outside. So naturally he had to spend his time doing something when he wasn’t panning or digging for the yellow dust, so he spent it being curious.

Everything attracted his attention, from bugs crawling across rocks, to buzzards wheeling in the sky. He investigated anything out of place that crossed his path, and spoke to it like it was another person. The way he figured, if he didn’t he’d forget how to speak altogether! Oft times, Joe would go miles out of his way to see what it was that glinted in the sun so brightly! Usually, it turned out to be a piece of quartz, or a discarded chunk of metal that the dry atmosphere never gave a chance to rust.

So when Joe Cleerey saw the thing he thought was a bird flapping aimlessly about not far overhead, he got curious. The thing flapped closer, doing flip-flops in the air like a crazy thing. Finally it fluttered to the sand, exhausted. Joe stopped and went over to it. He sucked in air at the sight.

“Bird nothing,” he hissed. “T’were a bat! Now what the dickens would a bat be doing out in broad daylight in this part of the country!”

Scratching his head in puzzlement, Joe stuck the bat in a sack. It couldn’t have come from far off. Well, the only thing to do was investigate. Curiosity was crawling on Joe like rabbits in a wheat field. He spied a little hillock about a half mile north. “Might, have come from over there. Hmmmmmmm. I’ll have a look-see, anyway,” he mused.

With the burro plodding along beside him, the prospector trudged through the loose sandy dirt. The sun overhead beat mercilessly down, and sweat ran in little rivulets from under his hat. Finally the pair, man and mule, reached the hillock. It was a very ordinary looking thing from the south side, and Joe was very disappointed, indeed. He dropped the burro’s reins and walked around to the north side. And there it was! A six foot wide crevice in solid rock!

The sandhawk’s nose wrinkled with unbounded curiosity. This called for a bit of exploration, and it was right up his alley. Out of his kit bag he took a lantern, lit it, and slipped into the natural cave. Suddenly, there was a wild whirring of thousands of wings! They beat at the lantern, while little claws hooked into his clothes. More bats! They swarmed out of the cave in a mad frenzy, and flapped aimlessly in the bright light.

Joe flattened against the rock wall and waited for them to get out. He shook loose those stuck to his raggedy jacket, and when they followed the rest, poked ahead. For a few yards the place was level, then it took a sharp angle downward. It was easy going. Projecting rocks stuck out all over, and provided good foot and hand holds. Gradually the place took on weird colors. Small animals scurried about under foot.

How much time passed, Joe never knew. The place so intrigued him that he didn’t bother to figure it out. Anyway, time was the thing he had the most of, so why worry about it? Then... from the cavern of many turns, he stepped into a room of unearthly dimensions. It stretched upward as high as the eye could see! Pointing from the floor up were giant stalagmites, while their counterparts were faintly visible from the distant ceiling. A steady drip of water was the only sound beside his own heavy breathing.

Many exits led from the enormous chamber, and Joe chose one of them. Careful to scratch his way with a knife, he entered one. Down, down he went. The place seemed to have no end. The lantern cast a yellow glow on the greenish-grey walls making the tunnel a ghostly lane. Hours passed, and Joe kept on. He entered many other chambers, each larger than the rest, but with each one, his curiosity increased and he continued his trek.

It was when he entered the last huge room that he noticed the difference. It was getting warmer! How deep in the bowels of the earth he was will never be known, but whereas when he first entered it was fairly cool, the temperature now was the same as that in the glaring sun on the surface, only here it was moist, unbearably so.

“Guess I must be near one of them underground hot water streams!” Joe said to himself.

It was then that he felt it. Someone was in here with him! Joe had lived alone long enough to be super-sensitive to another’s presence, and now he was sure that another living creature was somewhere near! He could even feel the eyes burning into him. Again his curiosity got the better of him. He flashed the light into every corner, but he saw nothing!

His flesh crawled. The most unearthly feeling came over him. This was not an animal... he would have known the difference at once, and had it been a four-footed creature it certainly would have attacked him before this. Whatever it was, it surveyed him very calmly from some hidden spot. For once, Joe’s curiosity didn’t overcome him. He took a last look around, then turned on his heel and started back the way he came!

Then... a low rumble reverberated throughout the place. It went down to a snarl and stopped. That was a human voice... scarcely distinguishable... but unmistakably human! Joe jumped three feet in the air and came down running. He tore straight ahead for all he was worth, his feet a blur in the lamp’s rays. Unfortunately, he didn’t see the wall ahead, and he hit it full out. His breath whooshed out, and he bounced back like a rubber ball! Luckily, the lantern was still intact.

It came again, that awful voice. Joe scrambled to his feet and panted away. Gone was his curiosity. All he wanted was to get out of there... and fast! His eyes sought out the trail he scratched on the floor and found it. But the rumbling came closer. “Who is that!” Joe called. “Speak up, critter!”

The great hall threw back a dozen echoes at him. By now, Joe was shaking so hard his knees hurt when they bumped.

“Critter? No, I am like you!”

Joe turned sharply, “Who said that!” Coming so unexpectedly, the voice gave him the creeps! Unbounded terror shook him right down to his shoes. Again that rich, mellow voice broke the stillness.

“I did, won’t you come with me? Step this way.”

Joe almost fell over.

“Lemme go, whoever you are! Get out of here!”

Again the echoes boomed back. And that was the difference. The other’s voice didn’t cast an echo! What was this person! This time the voice held a trace of anger.

“But I live here, I cannot go away!”

With all his fright, Joe located the voice. It came from a patch of darkness a few yards away. So black was the patch that the light rays couldn’t penetrate it. Now, Joe was a brave man, even in these circumstances. With a cry of rage, he hurled the light at the blob of darkness and jumped to that attack!

The lamp missed, but Joe didn’t. He landed on a creature that seemed completely naked. Sharp claws raked his face, but he grabbed an arm and held on. The skin seemed tougher than a razorback hog, covered with wire-like hair. Joe kicked out, struggling fiercely. Back and forth they went, gradually getting out of the range of the light.

Something came down on Joe’s foot, something hard and sharp. Once a horse stepped on him and if felt exactly like that. What manner of man was this! It fought with demoniacal fury. For once Joe was thankful of the many back-breaking hours over a pick and shovel, for he was as hard as nails. Joe let go a vicious right hook. It caught his assailant flush on the jaw. It screamed out with all its hate. But it came on. Ordinarily, that punch would have floored a man. Joe swung at random now, for the lamp was to one side and a good distance away.

But the other creature could see! Its feet pattered on the floor, then two sharp prongs caught Joe in the stomach! His hands shot out and grabbed the head, at least that was what it was supposed to be. His fingers had circled around a pair of horns! The creature thrashed about wildly, its fists swinging, but Joe had a firm grip now and he did not intend to let go just yet.

Keeping the other’s head down was a job, but he managed, then slowly but surely dragged him nearer the light to get a good look at him. The thing realized at once what he was trying to do and screamed.

“You must not! No one must see me!”

And with a terrific tug the thing broke loose and tore away. Joe could hear the clatter of its hard feet going up the hallway. Without losing a second, Joe scooped up the lantern and glued his eyes to the dirt under his feet. He found his tracks coming to the place, took a deep breath then ran... faster than he had ever done before.

When he finally reached the top his clothes hung in tatters. The lantern was dented and cracked, but its light still shone. Joe went through the bat cave so fast that not one moved, unless they were caught in his beam. Outside, the sun was almost down. The burro grazed peacefully and everything was normal again.

Joe scratched his head, then the past events hit him all at once. The heat, the strange creature with the hooves and horns that could not be seen... all this in the middle of the desert. And the bats. You could not forget the bats! That was it all right, he had met the Devil in person! There could be no other explanation.

Joe Cleerey never told this story to a living creature outside his burro, for, as he said to the droopy old pack mule, “Nobody’d ever believe me, nohow! Anyway, maybe it was just another old prospector that stumbled in that cave and couldn’t find the way out... maybe!”