And he laughed out—“Light up again, you old funk! It was the best friend in the world to us.”
Amazed, without understanding, I tremblingly rekindled the candle; and there, right before us, was a flight of stone steps going up—the ancient entrance to the crypts; and, risen bristling from his bed of straw and sticks at the foot of it, was our ally, our preserver, our most noble and honoured the badger.
He was a surly auxiliary, resentful for his broken slumber. He stood setting at us, and bubbling, and showing his teeth, as cross a little Cerberus as ever divided his duty between guarding the way down and keeping damned souls from escaping. Harry softly pulled the geological hammer from his pocket.
“Don’t!” I gasped. “You mustn’t! He saved us.”
“I’m not going to attack,” said Harry. “But I must defend, if he makes a rush. Try a bite of him first, if you’re doubtful. I tell you, if he once fastens on, you’ll have to take him up with you.”
Keeping close together, and our eyes on the little grey gentleman, we edged gingerly round towards the foot of the flight. Fortunately, as we advanced, he withdrew, coming behind us in a circle.
“Go up first,” whispered Harry, “while I keep the rear.”
Holding the candle to light him, I went backwards up the steps, until my head touched the canopy of soil and ruin which blocked their exit; and then, backwards, Harry followed me. The badger snuffed and gurgled, pointing his snout at us, but not offering to follow.
“Now,” said Harry, turning round, “for the way!”
It was a narrow one as it first offered—a mere beast-earth driven down between chance interstices in the ruins above to meet the stair-head. But all the time while we wrought at to enlarge it, the sweet light was stretched to us to comfort and inspire, and the smell of liberty came down more and more in draughts like wine, as if Harry with his strenuous hammer were tapping the very reservoir of day. The only fear was that, striking carelessly, he might loosen some poised mass, and bury us under an avalanche of stone. But luckily, both sunk vault and tumbled ruin had so well adjusted between them the balance of collapse that our puny grubbing was all insufficient to disturb it.