CHAPTER VIII: A YOUNG CAPTAIN IN TATTERS
“Now, yo'll do, Ah reckons.”
With that, the mulatto guide of the night before threw down one end of an inch rope.
“Ah reckon yo's sailor ernuff to clim' dat. Come right erlong, 'less yo' wants de dawgs ter jump down dar.”
“But they'll tackle me if I come up,” objected Jack Benson.
“No, dey won't. Dem dawgs is train' to dis wo'k. Ah done tole yo' dat. Come right erlong. Ah'll keep my two eyes on dem dawgs.”
It looked like a highly risky bit of business, [pg 090] but Jack told himself that, now he had been deprived of his valuables, this yellow worthy must be genuinely anxious to be rid of the victim. So he took hold of the rope and began to climb. The mulatto and the dogs disappeared from the upper edge of the pit.
As his head came up above the level of the flooring Benson saw the mulatto and the dogs in the next room, the connecting door of which had been taken from its hinges.
“Come right in, Marse Benson. Dere ain' nuffin' gwineter hu't yo',” came the rascal's voice reassuringly. Jack obeyed by stepping into the next room, though he kept watch over the dogs out of the corners of his eyes.