Suddenly I felt my foot slipping from the moss, while the other slid down the smooth rock. At the risk of flinging myself away from the wall I gave a violent kick, digging my toes into the moss, and at the same moment tugged with all my might at the stone in the tunnel floor; and, as my legs flew from under me, I dragged my head and shoulders and chest into the opening. I was now in an apparently hopeless position, lying across the sill of the opening with my legs dangling over the edge of the projecting rock, more than half of my body outside the tunnel, and only prevented from overbalancing outwards by my grip on the stone in the floor. Thus I remained for some minutes fixed and helpless; but at length, by dint of cautious wriggling and pulling steadily at the stone I dragged myself forward until I was able to hitch one knee over the sill. Then I crawled bodily into the tunnel and sat down with my back against the wall to get my breath. But there was no time for rest. Our pursuers might appear at any moment, and it was necessary to get my companion out of the treasure chamber--if such it was--without delay. I uncoiled the rope, and on lowering it over the edge, found that, if I held both ends, the bight, or loop, would just touch the ground. I called out to Bukári to know if he could climb up by the aid of the rope, and on his replying very readily that he could, I directed him how to find the hanging bight. He listened intently at the tunnel for a moment, and then crossing the chamber, according to my directions, felt about for the rope; and when he grasped it he planted his feet against the wall and came up hand over hand with surprising agility, while I held on with my feet fixed against the stone. As soon as he stood beside me, I gathered up the rope and coiled it round my neck, and without more delay we started off down the tunnel, Bukári leading as before. This gallery extended a considerable distance, but we had not gone very far when I caught a faint glimmer of light, and presently, on rounding an angle, I saw before me a very small spot a long way off, the dazzling brightness of which left me in no doubt as to its being actual daylight. I communicated this discovery to Bukári, and we trudged along very hopefully, the light growing stronger every moment; and soon I could distinguish a mass of foliage waving to and fro across the opening. At last we came to the mouth of the tunnel, which, I was astonished to find, opened on to the face of a cliff, the foliage that I had seen being the topmost bough of a great odúm tree that grew at its foot. The cliff, however, was not so steep as to present any considerable difficulty in the descent, and its face was covered with large bushes, by which one could easily climb down to the level.