It was a horrid thought, the death of a burrowing rat; and I dare not let my mind dwell upon the dread possibility.

Slowly, barely advancing an inch at a time, I began the venture, my hands blindly groping for the passage, the cold perspiration bathing my body.

The farther I penetrated amid the _debris_, the greater became the terror dominating me, yet to draw back was next to impossible.

The opening grew more contracted; I could scarcely force myself forward, digging fingers and toes into the hard earth floor, the obstructing timber scraping my body.

It was an awful, heartrending struggle, stretched out flat like a snake in the darkness, the loose earth showering me with each movement.