Indescribable joy!
The bone passed through, and a current of cool, fresh air played on my face, wet with sweat, caused by my exertions and the suspense I had undergone.
The air, after that of the vault, was like a draught of fresh water to me, and revived my shattered energies amazingly.
With renewed strength I tore at the hole until I had made an opening large enough to get through.
What horrors might I not meet on the other side? But anything was better than the vault with its hideous corpses, so I knelt down and crawled into the hole.
I put my hands out but could feel nothing.
What was I to do? Return to the vault?
Never! I would rather die than return to that fearful stench.
The thought flashed through my mind—why not kill myself?
Anything was better than this awful darkness.
I crawled through and hung on to the side of the hole, then muttering a prayer, let go my hold.
For a second I was in the air, then, I touched the ground, and felt myself rolling down and down a steep incline.
