CHAPTER XVIII.
As soon as Bathurst began to remove the covering of the hole, a voice came from below.
“Is that you, Bathurst?”
“All right, Doctor.”
“Heaven be praised! You are back sooner than I expected, by a long way. I heard voices talking, so I doubted whether it was you.”
“The ladder is still there, I suppose, Doctor?”
“Yes; it is just as you got off it. What are you going to do about the hole?”
“Rujub is here; he will cover it up after me.”
“Then you were right,” the Doctor said, as Bathurst stepped down beside him; “and you found the juggler really waiting for you?”