Ononehandthehillrosesteeply，ontheotheritfellawaytothestream。Onneithersidewasclosewood，ormydifficultieshadbeenimmenselyincreased；butscatteredoaktreesstoodhereandthereamongthebracken。Thishelpedme，andpresently，ontheupperside，Icameuponthedensesubstanceofthestackloomingblackagainstthelighterhill。
Myheartbeatfast，butitwasnotimeforthought。Biddingthemaninawhispertofollowmeandbereadytobackmeup，I
climbedthebanksoftly，and，withapistolinmyhand，feltmywaytotherearofthestack，thinkingtofindahutthere，setagainstthefern，andM。Cocheforetinit。ButIfoundnohut。
Therewasnone；and，moreover，itwassodarknowwewereofftheroad，thatitcameuponmesuddenly，asIstoodbetweenthehillandthestack，thatIhadundertakenaverydifficultthing。Thehutbehindthefernstack。Buthowfarbehind？howfarfromit？
Thedarkslopestretchedaboveus，infinite，immeasurableshroudedinnight。Tobegintoclimbitinsearchofatinyhut，possiblywellhiddenandhardtofindindaylight，seemedanendeavourashopelessastomeetwiththeneedleinthehay！AndnowwhileIstood，chilledanddoubting，almostdespairing，thestepsofthetroopintheroadbegantogrowaudible，begantocomenearer。