It was weird and terrifying.

Then came a pause; the arena was cleared, and with much solemnity two wicked-looking creatures came out and performed a sort of shadow dance, brandishing knives as they glided through the intricate figures.
It was a fascinating but unearthly scene, and the setting completed the illusion.

Fright deprived me of the power of thought, but in a sort of subconscious way I felt that Orpheus must have witnessed just such mad revels when he went down into Pluto's regions.

Suddenly the shouts became war whoops, the demons brandished their knives madly, and nodded their branching horns; the tomtoms were beaten with a dreadful din, and terror seized my heart.

What if they be treacherous, and had lured our small party down into this ravine for an ambush! The thing could well be, I thought.