"
"'Now,' said Peterkin in a tremulous voice, 'swim with me as near to
the edge of the hole as you can before you dive, then let me take a
long breath, and as I shan't be able to speak after I've taken it,
you'll watch my face, and the moment you see me wink--dive! And oh,' he
added earnestly, 'pray don't be long!'
"I promised to pay the strictest attention to his wishes, and swam with
him to the outlet of the cave. Here I paused. 'Now then', said I, 'pull
away at the wind, lad.'
"Peterkin drew in a breath so long that I could not help thinking of
the frog in the fable, that wanted to swell itself as big as the ox.
Then I looked into his face earnestly. Slap went the lid of his right
eye; down went my head, and up went my heels. We shot through the
passage like an arrow, and rose to the surface of the open sea before
you could count twenty.
"Peterkin had taken in such an awful load of wind that, on reaching the
free air, he let it out with a yell loud enough to have been heard a
mile off, and then the change in his feelings was so sudden and great,
that he did not wait till we landed, but began, tied up as he was, to
shout and sing for joy as I supported him, with my left arm, to the
shore. However, in the middle of a laugh that a hyena might have
envied, I let him accidentally slip, which extinguished him in a
moment.
"After this happy deliverance, we immediately began our search for your
dead body, Ralph; and you have no idea how low our hearts sank as we
set off, day after day, to examine the valleys and mountain sides with
the utmost care.
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