Part 45 (1/2)
”Well,” he said, ”see it now?”
”No,” said Aleck
”Look back, then”
The lad turned, and found that without noticing it he had passed a spot where a great piece of rock tere, which overlapped a portion of the wall, and as he looked in the direction fro, quite six feet in height, looking as if a portion of the rock had scaled off thesome three feet wide, and re out a portion of the light, and for a few moht feet fro the wall for safety and guidance, he found that instead of its being solid wall upon his left, he had been touching aback to the original direction Upon holding tight and peering round a sharp corner Aleck found that he was gazing into black darkness; but a breath of cool, moist air and the peculiar odour told their own tale of as beyond, and to endorse this ca over pebbles far enough below
”Now you know the way down, my lad,” said Eben
”Yes, I suppose I do”
”But even if you'd found it all by yourself I suppose you wouldn't have ventured down”
”What, into that horrible cavern?”
”'Tarn't a horrible cavern, ht down for a bit Had enough, or will you come further?”
”I'll coht, then That's right; there's nothing to be afraid of You do as I do”
It was a faint twilight nohere the pair were standing, with a dark forbidding chas for a lanthorn, which he half expected to see the s so he stepped suddenly into the darkness
”Now, then,” he said, ”you'll do as I do It's nothing to what you did just now in juer; only that looked better, for it was in the light This is in the darkness That was straight down; this is only a slope, and you'll hear me slide I'll tell you when to come after me”
”I understand,” said Aleck; and then suddenly, ”What's that?”
”What's what, ht up in ler
”But it's blowing the back oftouched me,” said Aleck, in a husky voice
”Yes, I know,” said the sers were feeling about your head”
”Yes, just like that,” said Aleck, in a husky whisper ”I don't think it could be the wind”
”Yes, it isThat's right; only the wind,and shutting the mouth at this ti in here and the next it's rushi+ng out Now do you see?”
”Yes, I think so,” said Aleck
”Then here goes”
Through the diht the boy no his coler turned round, took another step, spread out his arrasp the rocky sides, and the nextsound and a puff of wind struck the lad in the face, followed by silence
”Are you there, Eben?” said Aleck, softly