"Sure thing."
"Good. We'll need some strong men around here. Wait until they're set,
an' then I'll show you what to do."
Hans and another man up-ended the spile and probed toward the lake
bottom with it. They hung it on the other pulley and, when it was in
place, the end was about three feet below the drop-hammer. Hans fastened
it to the pulley, steadied it with his hands and sang out, "Let her go!"
Tom Nedley handed a long rope to Ramsay, bade him hold it tight, and two
men in the other boat took the other two ropes. Jerking the rope in his
hands, Tom Nedley tripped the latch holding the drop-hammer, and
instantly Ramsay felt the weight.
He hung on very tightly and was reassured by Tom Nedley's quiet, "You'll
soon get the hang of it. When I give the word, let the hammer fall just
hard enough to hit the spile. Stop it, of course, before it hits the
boys steadyin' for us."