"If you meet any such, send them along," said Dean, with a jocoseness that thinly veiled a feeling bordering upon despair.
"Ha, ha! That's a good one. Dan, our young friend is becoming a practical joker. That's right, young one. Keep up good courage. I must bid you good-bye now. Come along, Dan."
The two turned away, and Dean with despairing eyes saw them going back to freedom and the light of day, while he was left in the company of an ignorant black in a subterranean dungeon.
"Law, honey, don't take on!" said Pompey, good-naturedly. "There ain't no harm comin' to you."
"I should think harm had come to me. Here am I shut up in this black hole!"
"'Taint so bad, honey, when you're used to it. I didn't like it first myself."
"How long have you lived down here?"
"I can't justly say."
"Is it a year, or a month?"