t at the same instant she thought of
the two men in the cellar. Her spirits revived as she remembered that
there was an entrance to the ruin through her aunt's cellars. Once
there, she could bang on the door till she was heard.

Springing up with renewed hope, she proceeded to grope her way in what
she fancied might be the proper direction. She had lost her bearings,
she feared, when she was knocked down, but it would not be difficult to
find them again. The fallen mass was, as far as she could recollect,
behind her, and she had only to go ahead to make her way to the cellar.
If only she could be sure she was in the right passage! Alas! a few
steps brought her up against a barrier, which no efforts at feeling or
climbing seemed able to pass. A wall of earth met her everywhere.

A great terror seized her. Had the crash completely blocked the passage
on all sides? Was she a prisoner without hope of escape? Trembling so
that she could scarcely walk, she called the dog to her, and, holding
him by the collar, began to feel all round the walls of her prison.
Bootles, not approving of this plan, pulled vigorously in an opposite
direction, and, obeying his lead, she was relieved to find herself able
to get along fairly well, without many falls over stones or mounds. The
first horror of her position passed away.

Releasing the dog, she struggled bravely on, imagining every moment she
would come up against some door.

'We shall get there soon,' she cried cheerfully to Bootles, who was
trotting at her side, uttering an occasional whine.

He gave a bark on being addressed, and sprang up to her, but it appeared
to her he was uneasy. Had she made a mistake? It was no great distance
to the cellars; but she had been toiling along for an immense time, and
was getting very tired after her numerous falls and bruises. The terror
she had felt at first began to creep over her again, but she would not
let herself give way to it. Struggling blindly on in the total darkness,
she was suddenly startled by the sound of running water. Very soon she
was floundering in a stream which bubbled round her feet, while all
about her was a sound of faint trickling. Moreover, she had not gone on
many steps before another fall sent her headlong into a pool, from which
she scrambled to her feet soaking wet. With a terrified cry, she sought
in vain for the friendly wall, but could not find it. Chilled to the
bone, shivering, and hopelessly bewildered, she d