Flynn and Rapunzel dashed down the tunnel to the end of the passageway. Suddenly it opened out onto a vast cavern¹, which was dotted with huge stone pillars rising from the earth far below. Nearby was a rickety wooden dam holding back a vast amount of water. Flynn took one look behind him at the stampeding horse and guardsmen. He glanced down at the Stabbington brothers waiting for him at the base of the crevice³.

 

Suddenly, he saw Rapunzel throw her hair across a large divide, lassoing a sturdy piece of stone. Tossing Flynn her frying pan, she swung across the crevice, landing safely on the outcrop.

 

Then the guardsmen were upon him.

 

"Ha!" Flynn shouted as he hit one sword after another out of the guards' hands and knocked them unconscious. Rapunzel's pan was quite a weapon.

 

Then Flynn saw him: Maximus. The horse grasped a sword in his teeth. CLANG! Pan clashed against sword until Maximus knocked the pan right out of Flynn's hand. Just in the nick of time, Flynn heard Rapunzel call out to him. She tossed her long hair toward Flynn, and he grasped it. A fierce determination welled up inside her. She had done this before, many times, in the tower. It was like jumping from the rafters. Deftly⁴, she looped her hair around an outcropping on her pillar and watched Flynn swing out over the canyon⁵. She was aiming for him to glide⁶ all the way down to the bottom and make a soft landing.

 

As for Flynn, he felt as if he were flying! He had once again escaped Maximus and now was ready to make a landing! Then he saw the Stabbingtons. He had forgotten about them. They were standing⁷ there, right in his path, waiting with swords drawn⁸. Flynn felt himself pulled upward as Rapunzel yanked on her hair.

 

He soared right over the Stabbingtons' heads! Flynn yelled, delighted — and then crashed right into a long water drain. The wooden contraption served as a funnel⁹ for excess water to leak out of the dam and wind its way to the base of the canyon. Flynn scrambled¹⁰ atop the wooden chute as Rapunzel prepared to swing down to the ground.

 

But a furious Maximus refused to give up. Rearing up on his hind² legs, he knocked a large board from the dam above. It fell exactly as Maximus planned — making a bridge for him and the guards to run to the next pillar down, a bit closer to Flynn.

 

But the broken board had another effect: the rickety wooden dam loosened and cracked. Water began spurting¹¹ through the dam's increasing number of crevices¹², threatening an explosive flood at any moment!

 

Flynn was terrified. The gigantic dam was about to burst, but he couldn't get to Rapunzel. And the Stabbingtons were right there, ready to attack both of them. Quickly, Rapunzel threw her hair again, watching it twirl and wrap perfectly¹³ around a sturdy rock. With her hair firmly anchored, she swung down toward the ground, slipping to a landing. She was unharmed, but the Stabbingtons were racing¹⁴ straight toward her!

 

Flynn jumped into the wooden drainage chute and slid down toward Rapunzel.

 

Dashing forward, Flynn tried to gauge¹⁵ where she might come to a stop. Then he saw it: she was on a collision course with the rocky floor of the cavern.

 

Flynn raced and dove. At the last possible moment, he caught her!

 

费林和乐佩在地道里奔跑起来，一直跑到地道的尽头。地道突然通向一个广阔的大洞穴，里面竖着许多从很深的地下耸立而起的巨大石柱。近处是一个快散架的木头大坝，挡着大量的水。费林扭头看了看蜂拥而来的马和卫兵。他向下瞥了一眼，钉刺兄弟正在裂隙底下等着他。

 

突然，他看到乐佩把自己的长发甩过一个大裂缝，套住了一块结实的石头。她把自己的平底锅扔给费林，一下荡过裂缝，在凸出的岩石上安全着陆。

 

卫兵就快抓住他了。

 

“哈！”费林边喊边把卫兵手里的剑一一击飞，然后把他们打晕。乐佩的平底锅真是一件好武器。

 

接着，费林见到了捍马。这匹马用牙齿叼着一把剑。当！平底锅撞上了剑，捍马把费林手里的锅敲飞了。就在这关键时刻，费林听到乐佩在喊他。她把自己的长发向费林抛去，他抓住了它。她的心里涌起坚定的决心。她以前在塔里这样做过，而且做过很多次了。这跟从房椽上跳过去一样。她熟练地把头发绕在石柱的一个凸起的地方，看着费林从峡谷上荡过来。她是想让他滑荡到谷底，来个软着陆。

 

对费林来说，他觉得自己好像在飞！他又一次逃过了捍马，现在已经准备好着陆！就在这时他见到了钉刺兄弟。他把他们给忘了。他们就站在那儿，在他的必经之路上，拔出剑等着他。乐佩在猛拉她的头发的时候，费林感到自己在向 上升。

 

他擦着钉刺兄弟的头顶荡了上去！费林欢呼起来，高兴极了——然后一头栽进长长的排水管里。这个木制排水管装置相当于一个排出大坝里多余水量的漏斗，一直蜿蜒到峡谷底部。乐佩准备荡到谷底的时候，费林正好攀上了木制排水管的顶端。

 

但是狂怒的捍马不愿放弃。它靠后腿直立起来，从大坝的高处敲下一大块木板。就像捍马预计的那样——木板掉落的位置不偏不倚，搭起一座桥，它和卫兵们可以跑到下一根柱子上，离费林近了一点。

 

但是，这块断裂的木板造成了另一个后果： 快散架的木头大坝松动开裂了。大坝出现了越来越多的缝隙，水从这些缝隙里喷涌而出，随时都有可能爆发洪灾！

 

费林惊恐万分。巨大的水坝即将决堤，但是他到不了乐佩那儿。钉刺兄弟就站在那边，随时准备攻击他们两个。乐佩很快把她的长发再次抛过来，她看着头发旋转，完美地缠绕在一块坚实的石头上。长发稳稳地固定住后，她向地面荡去，着陆时滑了一下。她没有受伤，但是钉刺兄弟正直直地向她冲 过来！

 

费林一下子跳进木制排水管，朝乐佩滑下去。

 

费林向前跑着，试图估算出她可能会停在哪儿。然后他看到了： 她就站在洞穴岩石层相冲撞的地方。

 

费林奔跑着，俯冲下去。他在最后一刻抓住了她！

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