ing light; and as he proceeded he kept calling aloud,
"God Almighty, help me!" at every step he took, fearing that he would
be plunged still deeper into the insides of the earth, into still
darker abysses. And then he wished that it had been his master instead
of himself who had landed in this spot, for he was sure that Don
Quixote would have welcomed such an adventure.

It so happened that Don Quixote was riding along the countryside that
day on Rocinante, and suddenly his steed's hoof grazed against a hole
in the earth. Rocinante might have fallen into the hole had not Don
Quixote swiftly pulled in the reins and held him back. As the knight
was passing, and about to continue on his journey, he turned in his
seat to observe the spot well, and then he was startled by a cry that
seemed to come from the depths of the earth and found an outlet
through this pit. Still more startled he was, when he recognized the
voice of his own squire Sancho! These were the words he heard: "Ho,
above there! Is there any Christian that hears me, or any charitable
gentleman that will take pity on a sinner buried alive, or an
unfortunate, disgoverned governor?"

Of course it never entered our valiant knight's mind, devout Catholic
that he was, that it was the voice of any Sancho Panza in the flesh.
He thought that his devoted squire had suddenly met with death, and
that his soul was now in Purgatory, and that it was from there that
these sounds emanated. So he answered that he would do all in his
power to have Sancho released from his pains.

This brought forth an emphatic and tearful denial from below. Sancho
swore that he had never died in his life. As if to corroborate that
his master was not a liar, Dapple at this moment brayed most
tellingly, and Don Quixote believed everything that Dapple told him in
that short space of time, for Don Quixote knew Dapple's braying as
well as if he had been his father. The knight errant assured Sancho
that he would get him out of his prison in a very short time, though
he thought it best to return to the castle first and get some men to
help him in the task. Sancho begged his master to hurry, for he was
afraid unto death, and could not stand the thought of being buried
there much longer.

As soon as the Duke heard what had happened to his governor, he was
extremely surprised, for he had had no news from the island of
Barataria about Sancho's departure. He sent men with ropes and tackle,
and after muc