Laputa was dead and the treasure was mine, while Arcoll was crushing the Rising at his ease.

I had only to be free again to be famous and rich.

My hopes had returned, but with them came my fears.

What if I could not escape?
I must perish miserably by degrees, shut in the heart of a hill, though my friends were out for rescue.

In place of my former lethargy I was now in a fever of unrest.
My first care was to explore the way I had come.