"Thank God!" says she faintly, and would have fallen but for my arm.
"Why, comrade, how now?" says I; and for a moment her soft cheek rested against my leathern jerkin.
"O Martin," says she, sighing, "I do fear me I'm a monstrous craven—sometimes! Forgive me!"
"Forgive you?" says I, and looking down on her bowed head, feeling her thus all a-tremble against me, I fell a-stammering, "Forgive you, nay—where—here was an unchancy thing—'tis small wonder—no wonder you should grow affrighted and tremble a little—"
"You are trembling also," says she, her voice muffled against me.
"Am I?"
"Yes, Martin. Were you afraid likewise?"
"No—Yes!" says I, and feeling her stir in my hold, I loosed her.
And now, bringing fern and bracken from my bed I kindled a fire and, damping this a little, made a smoke the which, rising to a certain height, blew back upon us but always from the one direction; and peering up thither I judged here must be a space 'twixt the roof and the face of the rock, though marvellous well-hid from all observation. Hereupon, the place being full of smoke I must needs stamp out the fire lest we stifle; yet I had discovered what I sought. So whilst my companion busied herself about supper, I dragged our table from the outer cave, setting it in a certain corner and, mounted thereon, reached up and grasped a ledge of rock by which I drew myself up and found I was in a narrow opening or tunnel, and so low that I must creep on hands and knees.
"Will you have a candle, Martin?" And there was my lady standing below me on the table, all anxious-eyed. So I took the candle and creeping through this narrow passage suddenly found myself in another cavern very spacious and lofty; and now, standing in this place, I stared about me very full of wonder, as well I might be, for I saw this: Before me a narrow door, very stout and pierced with a loophole, and beyond this a rocky passage that led steeply down: on my right hand, in a corner, a rough bed with a bundle of goat-skins and sheets that looked like sailcloth; on my left a table and armchair, rough-builded like the bed, and above these, a row of shelves against the rocky wall whereon stood three pipkins, an iron, three-legged cooking-pot, a candlestick and an inkhorn with pen in it. Lastly, in a corner close beside the bed, I spied a long-barrelled firelock with bandoliers complete. I was about to reach this (and very joyously) when my lady's voice arrested me.