At first it was black as pitch; but I crawled as fast as I could in the hope of catchin’ up with the Friar. It is instinct with most men to follow the right wall when goin’ through a strange place in the dark, though I never could see why. A man carries his weapon in the right hand and naturally ought to be as free with it as possible. Still, most men do it, so I follered the right wall, hopin’ each time I put out my hand it would touch the Friar.
After a time, I saw a faint glimmer o’ light to the left, and I stopped and pointed it out to The. We came to the conclusion that they had a candle lighted in the offset where we had come upon the body, and we discussed whether they were likely to be in there, or had gone on farther back and left the light to see any one who tried to crawl after ’em. I held out ’at they wouldn’t expect any one to crawl after ’em; but The said ’at Ty would be likely to go into just such a place himself, and so would expect others to do the same. Ty certainly had the way of impressin’ his own men.
When we got a little closer, I lay flat and scanned along the floor, tryin’ to make out the Friar between me and the light; but I couldn’t see him, and we went on again. I hope I may never have to do any more such work as this. Creepin’ along in the dark eats up a feller’s nerve like a forest fire.
When we got so close ’at I could see my hands by the light, I sent The across to the other side, remindin’ him to knock his teeth should he chance upon the Friar, or in case we come together again, ourselves.
Then I lay flat with my hat down low, and nudged myself along with my elbows and toes. I couldn’t even make out The across the tunnel, which was only about twelve feet wide, and just for the fraction of a second it came across me that he had formerly been a Cross-brander, himself; but this thought didn’t live long enough to draw its second breath.
Finally I reached the spot where the light threw a splash on the walls and floor, and I made my gun ready and stuck out my neck in what was the most breathless silence I ever tried to listen to. Across the splash o’ light in front of me, all was a solid wall o’ darkness; and I’d have paid over quite a sum to know what eyes were lookin’ out of it.
Farther and farther I pushed myself into the light without seein’ a thing; until finally I saw the candle, itself, and beside it—the Friar.
I wriggled across the tunnel just as The crept into the room from his side, and we felt a little better to be in the light, together again. The body still lay again’ the wall, and The looked at the face; but he didn’t know it. The Friar hadn’t seen or heard anything, either; and we were up a tree to the top branches. We talked it all over, tryin’ to imagine what we would do under the same circumstances, and finally decided they had gone on down the tunnel, leavin’ a man on guard just below the light, and that the man had gone to sleep.
“Well,” sez I after we had discussed things around in a circle for a while, “here we are holed up again, as cozy as a cavey o’ rats with traps set at all the openin’s and en-thusiastic terrier dogs diggin’ down from above. If it’s not bein’ too inquisitive, Friar, what plan did you have in comin’ down here?”
“I wanted to be close to her,” sez Friar Tuck. “I kept thinkin’ o’ how lonely it must be for her through the dark, and I hoped the’ might be some chance o’ helpin’ her to escape. I did not have any definite plan—only faith and hope.”