We have got you now." "Hold me tight, then," muttered the lad, with a triumphant feeling at his chances of escape beginning to make him glow.
"You mustn't go there," shouted another.

"It's woundy deep, and you'll get sucked down." "Come and be sucked down after me," muttered Ralph, as the dogs began barking again furiously, but refused to follow and attack, keeping close to the men, who were all now in the river, wading slowly, the walls having grown too precipitous for them to keep on the sides.
Ralph's progress was slow enough too, for the water had deepened till it was above his waist, and the next minute was nearly to his armpits, while the river having narrowed now to half its width, the stream though deep came faster, and grew harder to stem.
"D'you hear, youngster!" roared the leader.

"You'll be drownded." "Better that than be caught and dragged up to the Black Tor for that wretched boor, Mark Eden, to triumph over me," thought Ralph; and he pushed boldly on, forced his way a dozen yards, and then made a step, to find no bottom, and going down over his head.
"Told you so," rang in his ears, as he struck out and rose, to find himself being borne back; but a few strokes took him to the right side, where he snatched at some overhanging ferns rooted in the perpendicular wall of rock, checked himself for a few moments, and looked back, to see the four men, nearly breast-deep, a dozen yards behind, waiting for him to be swept down to their grasp.
"There, give up!" cried another, "for you're drownded.

You don't know the waters here, like we do.

Some o' that goes right down into the mine." To the astonishment of the men, who did not dare to venture farther, the lad did not surrender, but looked sharply about to try and fully grasp his position and his chances of escape.