Elzevir drew a deep breath or two of the cool evening air, like a man who
has come through a difficult trial.
'There,' he said, 'this is Joseph's Pit, and here we must lie hid until
thy foot is sound again. Once get to the bottom safe, and we can laugh at
Posse, and hue and cry, and at the King's Crown itself. They cannot
search all the quarries, and are not like to search any of them, for they
are cowards at the best, and hang much on tales of the Mandrive. Ay, and
such tales are true enough, for there lurk gases at the bottom of most of
the shafts, like devils to strangle any that go down. And if they do come
down this Joseph's Pit, we still have nineteen chances in a score they
cannot thread the workings. But last, if they come down, and thread the
path, there is this pistol and a rusty matchlock; and before they come to
where we lie, we can hold the troop at bay and sell our lives so dear
they will not care to buy them.'
We waited a few minutes, and then he took me in his arms and began to
descend the steps, back first, as one goes down a hatchway. The sun was
setting in a heavy bank of clouds just as we began to go down, and I
could not help remembering how I had seen it set over peaceful Moonfleet
only twenty-four hours ago; and how far off we were now, and how long it
was likely to be before I saw that dear village and Grace again.
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