that
the greater part of the secret passage had been obliterated by the
falling ruins, so that he must not look for help from that direction.

Retracing his steps, then, he once more reached the vault, whose
coolness was pleasant after the stifling heat above. Then, crossing the
dark place, he slowly descended the steps, and went onward with extended
hands, feeling his way toward the two entries--the original, and that
which had been broken through by the fallen tree.

He had not far to go before a faint light stole down to guide his way,
and he reached the spot where the passage was roofed in with dead
branches and twigs, and as he reached it, just faintly heard, came the
shrill cry of a blackbird--_Pink-pink-pink_!--from somewhere in the wood
above.

A trifle that he would not have heeded at another time, but which now
sent a thrill of hope through him, for it told of light and liberty, and
help for the sufferer lying in that gloomy vault.

But he wasted no time, passing over the crackling refuse of broken wood
and stones which here impeded his way, till almost directly after he had
cleared all this, and made a turn, catching sight of the bright
star-like light low down by the floor of the passage--the opening that
he had made, and by which the water which had been gathering probably
for generations had been drained away.

He was soon at the rough wall which stopped the arch, and, going down on
one knee, he listened, for peril had made him cautious, besides which
the lessons of life he was receiving in his regimental work taught the
necessity for being prepared for enemies at every turn.

All seemed to be perfectly still, and as far as he could judge it was
early morning, soon after daybreak. The first rays of the sun appeared
to be brightening the surface of the lake as he tried to peer through
the orifice, and every now and then the cry of the water-fowl and the
splash of water endorsed his belief in there being no danger near.

Feeling satisfied that there was no danger, he returned to the broken
opening and stopped short as he heard a sharp rustling, followed by a
sound that was evidently the sharp utterance of some one impatient at
his position, or because one expected did not come.

Did whoever it was know of the existence of the hole through which the
faint light streamed down, showing the configuration of the rough
branches which covered the broken place? It seemed only probable, and,
feeling the