a moment I fell, and a cloud of dust and earth rolled after me; then
again their mirth rose into thunder-peals of laughter. But through it
all I heard Red Harald shout, "Silence! Evil dogs!"

For as I fell I stretched out my arms, and caughl a tuft of yellow
broom some three feet from the brow, and hung there by the hands, my
feet being loose in the air.

Then Red Harald came and stood on the precipice above me, his great
axe over his shoulder; and he looked down on me not ferociously,
almost kindly, while the wind from the Hollow Land blew about his red
raiment, tattered and dusty now.

And I felt happy, though it pained me to hold straining by the broom,
yet I said, "I will hold out to the last"

It was not long, the plant itself gave way and I fell, and as I fell I
fainted.

I had thought when I fell that I should never wake again; but I woke
at last: for a long time I was quite dizzied and could see nothing at
all: horrible doubts came creeping over me; I half expected to see
presently great half-formed shapes come rolling up to me to crush me;
some thing fiery, not strange, too utterly horrible to be strange, but
utterly vile and ugly, the sight of which would have killed me when I
was upon the earth, come rolling up to torment me. In fact I doubted
if I were in hell.

I knew I deserved to be, but I prayed, and then it came into my mind
that I could not pray if I were in hell.