章 89: Chapter 88

With great relief, Ives thought he saw a blur of movement at the bottom of the tunnel, as far as his flashlight could reach. He was standing between the two sentry figures guarding the entrance to the corridor, but out of a certain superstitious respect he had decided not to advance and allow Orghana to explore that part alone, which seemed the end of the road. Time would prove him right in preserving the woman's privacy at that stage.

Sure enough, some thirty paces away, a shadow was moving toward the entrance and toward Ives. He was soon able to guess the way the girl was walking and his heart filled with joy. For a moment he had feared that the depths of the mountain would never bring Orghana back safely. When the light illuminated the advancing figure, Ives could not contain himself and rushed into the tunnel and running came to the woman, whom he hugged tightly with tears in his eyes.