The thought was exhilarating, and the boy notwithstanding the peril in which he believed himself to be, danced gaily about for a moment. As he did so, one foot slipped over the edge of a declivity and he went rolling down, down, in the darkness to a lower level.
“Whoever built this idiotic contraption,” the boy declared, feeling of his arms and legs to see if they were still whole, “neglected to put in elevators, but I found a way to get down stairs, all the same!”
While the boy sat on the rocky floor rubbing the bruised knee upon which he had fallen, a ray of light shone upon a wall directly in front of him. He turned quickly about and saw the round eye of a searchlight fixed upon the ceiling.
He crouched closer to the floor and waited. It seemed to him that the person in charge of the light must have seen him. Still he hoped that such was not the case. The light advanced nearer to where he sat and so he crawled stealthily away.
“I am a child of fortune, sure enough!” chuckled the boy after the immediate danger of discovery had passed. “First thing I know, I’ll find a banquet room in here with a table loaded down with haunches of venison and great tankards of nut-brown ale.”
While the boy crouched in the corner the light passed him and turned into a passage leading to the east. Then he heard the sound of voices—low, fierce voices, speaking in English.
“And you let him escape!” one said.
“I tell you he rose up in the air and flew like a bird!” another voice exclaimed. “No living person ever saw such an exhibition before!”
“But still, you let him escape!” the first speaker repeated.
“He only got away!” was the answer. “He is somewhere in this vicinity and we’ll get him before nightfall.”