"Winnie," he began again, in a voice of forced calmness, "there is no danger whatever. I'm an ass—a dolt—that's all! The fact is, I made my father a sort of half promise that I would not ask your opinion on a certain subject until—until I found out exactly what you thought about it. Now the thing is ridiculous—impossible—for how can I know your opinion on any subject until I have asked you?"
"Quite true," returned Winnie simply, "so you better ask me."
"Ha! ha!" laughed Nigel, in a sort of desperate amusement, "I—I—Yes, I will ask you, Winnie! But first I must explain——"
"Hallo! Nigel!" came at that moment from the other side of the obstruction, "are you there—all right?"
"Yes, yes—I'm here—not all right exactly, but I'll be all right some day, you may depend upon that!" shouted the youth, in a tone of indignant exasperation.
"What said you?" asked Van der Kemp, putting his head through the hole.
"Hi! I's a-comin', look out, dar!" hallooed Moses in the opposite direction.
"Just so," said Nigel, resuming his quiet tone and demeanour, "we'll be all right when the light comes. Here, give us your hand, Van der Kemp."
The hermit accepted the proffered aid and leaped down amongst his friends just as Moses arrived with the lantern.
"It's of no use going further," he said. "The passage is completely blocked up—so we must go round to where the mountain has been split off and try to clamber up. There will be daylight enough yet if we are quick. Come."