“It is a strong place to defend,” says Motu. “But hunger and thirst are stronger. For a time we can hold out. Maybe days, maybe a week, but in the end we must give up. Is it not so, Mark Tidd?”
“I’ve got an idee,” says Mark, “that any givin’ up that’s d-d-done won’t be done by us.”
CHAPTER XXI
The Japanese came stamping and jabbering around under us, but that didn’t do any particular good that I could see, and after a while they quieted down. I guess they were pretty tired after their day’s work, and wanted a rest. Anyhow, they didn’t bother us again that night.
The first thing Mark had us do was make stronger the fastening of the stairs. It was held by a double wire and a rope. We used up all the wire we had left putting on more fastenings, and when we got through we felt pretty safe for a while. It would take anybody more than a minute to get those stairs down, we were certain.
Now we were so high up they didn’t have any ladders that could reach us, and we didn’t need to bother watching anything but the stairs, so four of us went to sleep while one watched. Plunk was the unlucky one. He drew the shortest stick. He was to watch from nine till twelve, Binney from twelve to three, and Motu the rest of the night. When that was arranged I rolled up in my blanket on the floor and went to sleep.
Maybe you’ll say that wasn’t a comfortable bed, but it suited me. I was perfectly satisfied. The way I felt I guess I’d have been glad to lie down on a pile of cobblestones with a boulder for a pillow. I went to sleep so quick I hardly remember lying down, and I never wiggled till morning. From nine till six I slept and would have been willing to go on for a couple of hours more, but Mark Tidd shook me and yelled in my ear that breakfast was ready, such as it was.
While we were eating I got to thinking about things and says to Mark, “If they find any way to get these stairs down we’re goners, because they can use their movable fort and come prancing right up to us.”
“I’ve b-been calc’latin’ about that fort,” says Mark, “and I guess I wasn’t very smart not to see a way to stop it before. They won’t get us with that thingumbob,” he says.
“How’ll you stop ’em?” says I.