of men, or a pole-cat which had made its home in these subterranean
passages.

Ivan continued to see in front of him the white Apparition, and he
believed that he heard Jesus calling and inviting him to follow.

The ground they were now passing over was almost entirely dry. It was
evident that if here water had ever streamed from the roofs and the
walls, it had long ago drained off down the slanting passages, probably
into the neighbouring mine. Here and there some water-drops were visible
shining on the stones, but one did not hear the loud noise of the
water-springs, nor the roar of the torrents rushing down the crevasses.
When the miners reached the shaft they beheld above their heads a
greyish light, a certain indication that they were no longer very far
from the surface of the earth.

"Well, now, how are we to get up?"

"There are still ladders left, but so rotten that they would not support
us."

"Listen to me," said the chief miner. "One of us must try to get up
there. Once he has got up, he will go and get help from the village.
Hullo! Where is the old man?"

Still under the impression of his fixed idea, the old man had seen Jesus
mounting the ladders and did not wish to remain behind. He thought no
more of his comrades; he had forgotten them. However, the higher he
climbed, clinging to the ladders, the more weary he felt. His weakness
overcame him again, and long-forgotten phantoms seemed to be climbing at
his side--he did not know whether they were phantoms or living beings.
He saw his mother; she was wearing the same miner's boots which he had
seen projecting from the mass of earth which covered her. He saw also
the old man who had loved and petted him when he was a child. He saw him
with his beard just as he used to be, wearing the same coarse shirt with
unbuttoned collar, showing his chest covered with grey hair. Both these
dumb companions smiled affectionately at him.

Overhead the orifice of the shaft continued to grow larger. The old man
could already distinguish a fragment of pure blue sky, for what seemed
from below the grey light of morning was, above the surface, the
splendour of a sunny day. And in this splendour, Jesus was continually
ascending, and was now well above the opening of the shaft.

He reached the last rung of the ladder. The earth was basking under the
bright autumnal sun. The grass, although withered, appeared rejuvenated
by it; yellowed leaves hung thickly on the branches