"Can we get back?" Harry asked.
                              
"I'll try," he said, and he slowly went over to the controls to fiddle with them. 
                              
The cart began to vibrate violently, and after a sudden jolt, it started back up going the right way, but very slowly. It would take them all day to get back at this speed. The problem was that it still wanted to go down and Hoptax was forcing it to go up. The slow pace was very unsettling. The usual enjoyable ride was now very creepy. 
                              
He looked down the dim tunnels and saw nothing but darkness, and there were weird noises that sounded like some kind of animal, but Harry could not make out where they were. He turned to look over the side. He could barely see anything, but his eyes were starting to adjust to the dark. There was also distant light from torches on the wall. He thought he saw movement in the darkness, but he could not make out any shapes. After a while of staring at them, he looked away. They sent a chill down his spine, and he was quite use to terrifying things. 
                              
They managed to go about an hour without talking or incident. Harry was trying to ignore what sounded like purring noises and stared at the tunnel in front of them. They were not going any faster than before. Harry was starting to get extremely bored and cold from being in the damp air for so long. 
                              
Hoptax, on the other hand, was quite jittery and nervous. He kept glancing over the side, as though checking for something. Harry watched his behavior curiously, trying to make sense of what he was looking for over the edge of the cart. Hoptax paid no attention to him.
                              
Another hour slid by with no talking. The air was warmer, but the noises still closely followed them. Harry's eyes had fully adjusted to the dark, and with the light from the everlasting torches, he could actually look at passing vaults. Some had one keyhole like his. Others, however, had a variety of contraptions and keyholes, for those who were more paranoid. They passed one with no keyhole. Harry wondered if it was vault seven hundred thirteen, but he hoped not because it would still be a very long journey back up. He had it in mind to ask Hoptax where they were, but he was still acting odd. 
                              
Hoptax's eyes kept darting over to the side of the cart, as if something might appear. As more time passed, Harry got impatient.
                              
"Do you know where we are?" he asked. The goblin did not speak, but nodded. 
                              
"How much longer?" Harry asked, now more curious about Hoptax's behavior.
                              
"A few hours... if we make it," he said, eyeing the edge.
                              
"If we make it?" Harry asked, but Hoptax did not answer. "Will anyone notice we are gone?"
                              
"Yes!" he said, with his ears perked up. "They will!" he said, but his excitement died down immediately. "It will take them a long time to find us." 
                              
They did not speak for a while, and they had probably gone another hour. Harry thought he heard the sound of a cart rattling down the track, but when he looked around and saw nothing. 
                              
The cart was vibrating more and increasing in intensity. It really wanted to go down, and Harry's feet and butt went numb. His leg was hurting more and more, and the noises from outside the cart were getting louder and closer. They were heading up a stretch of the tunnel that was a straightway, when they suddenly stopped, throwing Harry and Hoptax off guard. Harry started to get feeling back into his body parts, but was more worried about the fact that they stopped. Harry was afraid that they would plunge back downward.
                              
"What's going on!" he asked Hoptax, who was equally alarmed. 
                              
"I don't know!" he shrieked, panicking, but before he said anything else, the noise of another cart speeding down the track, their track, caught their attention.