He paced the floor deeply absorbed in thought, when suddenly he stumbled and fell, as it appeared, into a vast empty space. Instinctively extending his arms, he caught hold of one of the projecting ledges, and so hung suspended in mid-air.
What was to be done? Aslitta strove to secure a foothold, but the relation of his accident to his imprisonment soon dawned upon him.
In the centre of the floor he had discovered an opening, which evidently was the passage leading to a well, or perhaps, as he thought, to one of the unused drains, such as there are many in the old castles. A low stone fence surrounded the opening, and it was this over which he had stumbled. Aslitta reflected for a moment—perhaps it was once covered with a stone, which, slipping out of place, dropped below. The opening was not very wide, and it was only after a great effort that he succeeded in jumping over the rail.
If he could only have seen whether there was water in the well which might aid him in his escape. What would he not have given for a match? But that was out of the question.
Suddenly he stopped short; it appeared as though he heard a noise proceed from the well. He listened, but again everything was quiet. He bent over the opening, and now he could distinctly hear a sound. It was a human voice—it was a curse he had heard uttered.
Placing his hands about his mouth he cried out:
"Is anybody here?"
No answer came. The prisoner waited and then called out once more.
Again no answer came.
Presently he heard a voice cry out, "You are a prisoner; are you not?"