Out tumbled the slab on the heap, and out crept Curdie over the top of it.
'You've saved my life, Irene!' he whispered.
'Oh, Curdie! I'm so glad! Let's get out of this horrid place as fast as we can.' 'That's easier said than done,' returned he.
'Oh, no, it's quite easy,' said Irene.

'We have only to follow my thread.

I am sure that it's going to take us out now.' She had already begun to follow it over the fallen slab into the hole, while Curdie was searching the floor of the cavern for his pickaxe.
'Here it is!' he cried.

'No, it is not,' he added, in a disappointed tone.

'What can it be, then?
I declare it's a torch.