But he didn‘t enjoy himself， or not for very long. He began， almost for the first time in his life， to feel lonely. At first this feeling grew very gradually. And then he began to worry about the time. There was not the slightest sound. Suddenly it occurred to him that he might have been lying there for hours. Perhaps the others had gone！ Perhaps they had let him wander away on purpose simply in order to leave him behind！ He leapt up in a panic and began the descent.
