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　　An extraordinary find
　　And now – what had happened to Jack² and Kiki all this time? A great deal –some of it most astonishing and unbelievable.
　　Jack had not known that the others had escaped – in fact, he had not evenknown that they had been imprisoned³. He had wandered off after the parrot,and had become quite lost. The men, as we know, had heard Kiki squealingand shouting some hours later, when they had been chasing Philip and thegirls, but they had gone down the wrong passage after them and had notseen them.
　　So there was poor Jack, lost and terrified, with a forlorn Kiki clutchinghard at his shoulder. The boy wandered down a maze⁴ of galleries, coming tomore and more old abandoned workings. He was afraid that his torch wouldgive out. He was afraid of the roof falling in on top of him. He was afraid ofa great many things.
　　‘I may be lost for ever down here,’ he thought. ‘I may be wanderingmiles away from that main passage.’
　　He suddenly came to a great hole in the roof above him, and realised thathe had come to another shaft⁵. ‘Of course – there were quite a number ofthem,’ Jack thought, his heart beginning to thump⁶. ‘Thank goodness – nowI can climb up and get out into the open air.’
　　But, to the boy’s dismay, there was no way of getting up the shaft.
　　Whatever ladder or rope there had once been had rotted or fallen away –there was absolutely no way of climbing up.
　　It was awful to stand there at the bottom, knowing that freedom, daylightand fresh air were at the top, and yet with no means of reaching them.
　　‘If I were a baby, I bet I’d burst into tears,’ said Jack out loud, feelingsomething suspiciously like tears pricking⁷ at the back of his eyelids⁸. ‘But Iwon’t do it. I must just grin and bear it.’
　　He gave a

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