'No. There's one other way. It's a very low tunnel. You have to crawl flat on your stomach. A stranger wouldn't find it.'
'I see,' I murmured. 'But this is the way you'd normally come?'
'Yes. My stepfather drove staples into the rock.'
'Well, your stepfather's just knocked them out again.'
'What do you mean?'
'You won't find any staples now.'
'I was just looking for them when you spoke to me.' She peered down. 'No, you're right. They've been knocked out.'
'Yet less than an hour ago when I followed the old man across this gap, they were there. What do you know about that?'
'You mean — " She broke off, unwilling to put the thought into words.
'That's right,' I said. 'He led me up into a rabbit warren of galleries, then doubled back and cut off my only line of retreat. A nice fellow, your stepfather.'