"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.