I am one that cannot bear to see things botched or gone upon with ignorance; and the thought that some poor devil was to hazard his bones upon such premises, revolted me.

Had I guessed the name of that unhappy first adventurer, my sentiments might have been livelier still.
The designation of this personage was indeed all that remained for us to do; and even in that we had advanced so far that the lot had fallen on Shed B.

It had been determined to mingle the bitter and the sweet; and whoever went down first, the whole of his shed-mates were to follow next in order.

This caused a good deal of joy in Shed B, and would have caused more if it had not still remained to choose our pioneer.

In view of the ambiguity in which we lay as to the length of the rope and the height of the precipice--and that this gentleman was to climb down from fifty to seventy fathoms on a pitchy night, on a rope entirely free, and with not so much as an infant child to steady it at the bottom, a little backwardness was perhaps excusable.