  A scheme for retrieving quantum information stored in collective atomic spin
systems onto optical pulses is presented. Two off-resonant light pulses cross
the atomic medium in two orthogonal directions and are interferometrically
recombined in such a way that one of the outputs carries most of the
information stored in the medium. In contrast to previous schemes our approach
requires neither multiple passes through the medium nor feedback on the light
after passing the sample which makes the scheme very efficient. The price for
that is some added noise which is however small enough for the method to beat
the classical limits.
