behaves decent his fortun's made."

"Oh, look here, my man," said Mr Solomon as we came up, "you had better
stop here and help. Lower down that ladder."

Ike took hold of the ladder as if it were an enemy, gave me a nod, and I
went and stood at the foot, so as to hold it down, while Ike raised it
erect, and then, taking it by the rounds with his strong brown hands, he
lifted it as if it had been a feather, and, walking to the mouth of the
well, let the ladder glide softly down till he held the top in his
hands; then, swinging it about, he found a resting-place for the bottom
upon a piece of wood such as were fixed across the well every ten or a
dozen feet to support the pipe and other gear of the pump.

"That do, master?" said Ike.

"Yes," said Mr Solomon. "Now, Mr Grinling, you had better try her.
Here, stop, what are you going to do?"

"Going down," said Courtenay.

"Do you know that well is perhaps very foul?" cried Mr Solomon.

"Then it's your place to keep it clean," said Philip sharply. "Go on
down, Court, or else I shall."

"You won't, neither of you, go down while I'm here," said Mr Solomon
stoutly.

"What right have you to interfere?" cried Courtenay:

"Same right as any man has to interfere when he sees a young goose going
to throw away his life."

"Oh rubbish!" said Courtenay. "Just as if I couldn't go down a ladder.
Here, stand aside."

Mr Solomon did not stand aside, and he looked so very sturdy and firm
that Courtenay gave up and drew back with his brother, whispering and
waiting his opportunity.

During this time the plumber had been rattling his tools in his basket,
and Mr Solomon turned to him again.

"Ain't you going to try her?" he said. "That well hasn't been open
these two years."

"Oh! she's right enough," said the plumber sourly. "It ain't the first
time I've been down a well."

"But I don't think it's safe," said Mr Solomon. "What do you say?" he
continued, turning to Ike.

"Looks right enough," said Ike, kneeling down and looking into the well.
Then rising, "but I wouldn't go down unless I didn't want to come up no
more."

"Tchah!" ejaculated the plumber; and I knelt down once more to look for
the danger, but could see nothing but the dark whispering hole, with, at
a great depth below, the round disc of light representing the mouth of
the well.

Just then something passed my head and fell down with, after a while, a
strange hollow _plash_ from below.

"That'll