The boys sprang forward with alacrity, feeling that now the fun had fairly begun.
CHAPTER IV
KIRKE’S BRAVE DEED
Swinging his limber arms, the little blue clad Chinaman scuffed behind Mr. Keith and the boys to the mouth of the unfinished well. Over this stood the temporary windlass, its huge bucket swaying to and fro above the dizzy hollow.
Kirke noticed that this hollow was deeper than when he had seen it last, and the mound of loose earth near it was considerably higher.
Mr. Keith and the two boys held the crank of the windlass with an iron grip while Sing Wung stepped inside the bucket; then turning the handle slowly backward, they lowered him deeper and deeper till he had reached the bottom of the dim-yawning cave.
“I told Captain Bradstreet I’d like to dump Sing Wung into this well, and I’ve done it,” said Kirke aside to Paul.
“The slant-eyed old villain doesn’t weigh much more than your little Shot,” responded Paul, bending over the dusky abyss.
By this time the Chinaman had scrambled out of his novel elevator and was throwing into it great spadefuls of dirt.
Mr. Keith looked at his watch. “I begin to think Yeck Wo isn’t coming. If he lived anywhere near, I’d send to inquire.”
At that moment Sing Wung piped shrilly from beneath their feet.