"Sound" excerpt

Tom remembered he had been looking for a cave, armed with a strong lamp, climbing gear, and a supply of food ample for two or three days, when the fall happened. It was his week off from work at the Universal Transport Agro division; his first week off in over two years. Being an amateur naturalist on account of his rural background, Tom was more comfortable among the winds, the woods and the screeching night noises than most of his fellow factory-workers. A little cave-climbing would be good for his mental health.

There was a blind hole near the entrance to the cave. Tom had found himself falling ten meters or more, fearing for his life. It was his luck to land in water, deep, cold, and dark as death. By the time he reached hard ground, mainly uninjured, he found most of the supplies were gone, except for a tiny head-lamp he kept in his breast pocket, along with maps, pencil and paper, and various tools. After a few dives into the pitch-black water had proved useless in recovering his supplies, Tom sought to locate the way out. He had been lost in caves before, so his level of panic was still low. Only when Tom stumbled onto the passage by the tiny waterfall did he find himself losing his mental bearings.

First there had been the sound of falling water, which was a likely indicator of a way out of the cave; then the surprising discovery of what seemed like a large room behind the waterfall, then the shafts of what looked like daylight. Excited, Tom stumbled toward the light, and all at once found himself in the forest, with the sound of the music (or the frog) in his ears.

As he followed the girl along the trail, Tom fought the impulse to ask her all the questions in his mind. She appeared to know already how lost he was, and it would not do to reinforce the impression of his helplessness. The trail left the forest at once, and opened up upon a small farmhouse where an athletic figure split wood next to a great pile of firewood that indicated the morning's work was nearly done. The sight of smoke coming from the chimney made Tom realize how hungry and tired he was.