"We had been in our place of concealment about two hours, and it must have been nearly twelve o’clock when we heard steps approach. The night, fortunately for our purposes, was dark, as the moon had not yet risen. It was impossible therefore for us to see anything, but I judged from the sound that the man, whoever he might be, was alone. He passed about a hundred yards from our hiding-place, and the noise of the stream made it impossible for my companion to distinguish the footsteps. Had I not by this time been able to concentrate my sense of hearing on any particular sound, I should have been equally helpless; as it was, we had the advantage of being able to follow the stream without fear of detection. "When we came to the outskirts of the wood and were about ten yards from the cliff, we paused. I could see the figure of a man standing by the side of the crevice, and it seemed to me that he was groping for something on the surface of the rock. In another moment the water began to sink, and the figure disappeared into the gully through which the stream had now ceased to flow. We ran quickly to the spot, and with no little feeling of dread, began to follow the priest through the dark channel. Fortunately he had struck a light which he held before him, or we certainly should either have been drowned or swept back into the plain, for instead of following the bed of the stream, he had turned up a steep narrow passage to the right, and was now disappearing round a sharp turning. The moment he was out of sight we hastened after him up the incline, and were only just in time. There was a rush of water behind us, which in a moment rose to our knees; the path through which we had entered was once more the bed of a boiling torrent, but for the time being we were safe. A few more steps and we were out of reach of the water, standing in pitch darkness on the dry rock which formed the footway of a winding tunnel. "We waited a few moments, fearing to go further without a light, and thinking it safer to let our guide get some way ahead before we struck a match. We had thus far accomplished our purpose successfully, but I fancy neither of us felt very comfortable. To return was now impossible, and if the other end of this tunnel should be closed we might find ourselves like rats caught in a hole, and either be starved to death, or have to wait until we were found by the next party of priests, when our fate would probably be as bad or even worse. I felt for my pistol, and then by the light of a wax vesta we began to grope our way up the winding staircase which had been cut into the rock. We must have used about ten matches when a puff of wind extinguished the one last lighted, and taking this as a sign that we were near the mouth of the tunnel, we decided to finish our journey in the dark.