"Lie still, my lad," he said kindly. "Don't disturb him, Brownsmith.
Good-bye, my lad! I'll see you again."
He shook hands with me and went to the door.
"Well," he said sharply, "are you going to shake hands with the brave
fellow who saved your brother's life?"
The next moment I saw young Philip at my side, and he took my hand in
his, which felt cold and damp like the tail of a cod-fish.
"If he seems to change in any way," said the voice I had heard before,
"send for me directly; but I think he will be all right in an hour or
two. I'm going up to the house."
"Who's that?" I said sharply.
"The doctor, my lad," said Mr Solomon.
"But I'm not ill," I said. "What was it? Did I fall into the water?"
"Foul air overcame you, my lad. How do you feel?"
"Yes, how do you feel?" said Mrs Solomon gently, as she took my hand.
"I'm all right," I said, sitting up, and this time I didn't feel giddy.
"Only something seems to hurt my chest."
"The rope cut you a bit, that's all. It will soon go off."
Through the open door I could see Ike standing watching me attentively,
and as soon as he caught my eye he began to jerk his arm in the air as
if he were crying "Hooray!"
Just then a head came slowly round the door-post, and I saw Shock
staring in at me; but as soon as he saw that I was looking his head was
snatched back.
"How is he now?" said the plumber, coming to the door.
"Oh, I am quite well," I said, in an irritable tone that was new to me,
and I got up; "I'm going out now."
"You're well out of it, my lad," said the plumber. "I knowed a case
once where five chaps went down one after the other to save him as had
gone first, and they all fell to the bottom and died."
"There, for goodness' sake, man, don't talk like that to the lad after
what he has gone through," said Mrs Solomon.
"All right, mum," said the plumber; "but as I was going to say, I don't
think I shall have the heart to go down today, but I'll see how the air
is whether or no."
"You're not going out," said Mrs Solomon.
"Yes, please; it will do me good," I said; and the air did seem to
refresh me, as I followed them back to the well, where the plumber tried
it again by lowering down the lighted candle, to find it burn brightly
till it was down by the cross piece on which young Dalton had lain,
after which it went out directly.
He tried it again and again, always with the same result.
"It's got lower and lower," he said. "By to-morrow there won't be much
in. That young gent couldn't have been overcome by the bad air," he
continued. "It's my belief as he fell out of being frightened, and it's
lucky for him that he stopped where he did. If he'd gone a foot lower,
that doctor wouldn't have brought him round."
"Well," said Mr Solomon rather impatiently, "what are you going to do?"
"Kiver up the well for to-day, and come on tomorrow."
"But we want water."
"Can't help it; I couldn't go down and work there to-day. My nerves is
shook."
"Suppose we put a rope round you."
"Bless your heart, Mr Brownsmith, sir, I couldn't go down if you put
two ropes round me. I'm just going to lift out this here ladder, and
then p'r'aps your man will help me put on the stone."
Mr Solomon grunted, and I looked on, shivering a little in spite of the
hot sunshine as I saw the ladder lifted out and laid down beside the
path by Ike, after which Mr Solomon himself helped to put the stone
back in its place before walking with the plumber towards the gate.
"How was it all, Ike?" I said eagerly.
"Oh, you'd better ask young Shock here."
Shock, who was in a stiff suit of corduroys, looked at him sharply, spun
round, and ran off.
"Y'ever see the likes o' him?" said Ike chuckling. "Puts me in mind of
a scared dog, he do, reg'lar."
"But tell me," I said; "how was it? I don't remember."
"Well, it were like this, you see," said Ike. "I were holding the rope
tightly and watching of you, and I see you slip on the noose, and
tightened it, and then all at once I shouted to the others, `Hook on,' I
says, `it's got him.'
"I was on the watch for it, you see, and ready, and hauled at once.
Thank goodness, I am strong in the arm if I ain't in the head. So I
hauled, and they hauled, and so had you both up a few feet directly, one
at each end of the rope, and you two couldn't be civil to each other
even then, but must get quarrelling."
"Quarrelling! Nonsense, Ike! I was insensible, and so was he."
"I don't care; you was quarrelling and got yourselves tangled up
together, and the rope twissen round and round under one of them bits o'
wood as goes acrost."
"Yes, I know," I said excitedly, for the thought made me shudder.
"Well, there you was; and the more you was pulled the tighter you was,
just below the bottom of the ladder."
"And what did you do, Ike?"
"Well, I was going down, and was about handing the ropes to Old
Brownsmith's brother, when young Shock hops in on to the ladder like a
wild monkey a'most. Down he goes chattering like anything, and it was
no use to shout to him to have a rope. Afore we knowed it a'most, he
was down and lying flat on his stum. `Lower a bit,' he shouts, and we
lowered, and he untwisted you two and guided you both clear, and stopped
till you were both out, when he came out whistling as if nothing was the
matter."
"A brave fellow!" I cried warmly.
"That's what I said," cried Ike; "but the plumber said it was because he
didn't know there was any danger."
"Well, Ike, what then?"
"Oh, there's no more to tell, only that Sir Francis come and a doctor
was fetched, and the guv'nor said it would be a warning to them two
boys; and young shaver who went down's up at home getting all right, and
you've got all right, and that's all."
That was not all, for I went down the garden--and found Shock, to thank
him for what he had done, but he only turned his back on me and then
walked away; while, feeling faint, I turned to go up to the cottage and
lie down till the sick sensation had gone off.
I had gone about a dozen yards, when, _thump_! a worm-eaten baking pear,
half-grown, hit me on the back, and I did not need telling that it was
thrown by Shock.