“How are you getting on?”
Hilary was right; it was Allstone.
“Waiting for more,” was the reply.
“They’ll bring up another cart directly,” said Allstone in his sulky tone of voice.
“Sooner the better. I’m ’bout tired out. Fine lot o’ rats here,” said the man.
“Ah, yes! There’s a few,” said Allstone.
“Heard ’em scuffling about like fun over the other side,” said the man.
Hilary felt the cold perspiration ooze out of him as he lay there, dimly seeing through the meshes of the net that he was in a low arched vault of considerable extent, the curved roof being of time-blackened stone, and that here and there were rough pillars from which the arches sprang.
He hardly dared to move, but, softly turning his head, he saw to his horror that the square opening whence he had taken the stone was full in view, the light that left him in darkness striking straight up through the hole.
If they looked up there, he felt that they must see that the stone had been moved, and he shivered as he felt that his efforts to escape had been in vain.