Sabina stood still, but she trembled a little, as he dashed up through the swift, shallow stream, not ankle deep, but steady as fate. In a moment he had disappeared from her sight, and she was all alone in the dismal place, in darkness, save for a little light that forced its way up from below through the hole. It seemed five minutes before his plashing footsteps stopped, up there in the passage; then came instantly the noise of stones thrown aside into the water, and of heavy pieces of board grating and bumping, as they floated for a moment. Almost instantly a loud roar came from the same direction, as the inflowing stream from the well thundered down the shaft. Sabina heard Malipieri's voice calling to her, and his approaching footsteps.
"The water cannot reach you now!" he cried.
It had already stopped running down the passage, when Malipieri emerged, dripping and holding out the lantern in front of him, as his feet slipped on the wet stones. Sabina was very pale, but quite quiet.
"What has happened?" she asked mechanically.
"The water has risen suddenly," he said, paler than she, for he knew the whole danger. "We cannot get out till it goes down."
"How soon will that be?" Sabina asked steadily.
"I do not know."
They looked at each other, and neither spoke for a moment.
"Do you think it may be several hours?" asked Sabina.
"Yes, perhaps several hours."