the bat
from Glyn's hand, while another boy got hold of the brick.

"Come on, boys," cried Burton. "Let's get a spade from the potting-shed
and bury the beast before old Slegge knows." And away they galloped,
followed by a shout from the gardener:

"Here, I say, you mind you put that there spade away again!--They're
nice uns, Mr Severn, sir, and knew about it all the time."

"Yes," said Wrench; "that young Burton was chuckling and laughing so
that he could hardly bear himself while he was waiting to see it come
up.--Now, then, twist t'other bucket over, mate, and give it a drag
round the bottom. What are we going to catch next?"

Glyn started once more, his heart beginning to beat fast with
expectation; but it gradually calmed down as the time went on, bucket
after bucket after a careful scraping along the bottom bringing up
nothing but a very little mud, and he began to feel convinced that if
there had been a morocco case down at the bottom of the well it must
have been felt in the careful dredging the live rock received, even if
it had not been brought up.

"There," said Wrench, "that'll do for to-day. It's only scraping for
nothing to get a little mud like that. I dare say there'll be six
inches of water in the bottom by to-morrow morning, and we will give the
whole place a good scraping round in getting that out; then another the
next day, and it ought to do."

"But do you feel sure there's nothing down there now?" said Glyn.

"Certain, sir. What do you say to going down yourself to see? You
could stand in the bucket, and we'd let you down. You wouldn't mind
turning round as you went down?"

"No," cried Glyn eagerly; "and there's no water there now."

"Not much more than enough to fill a teacup, sir. What do you say?"

"I'll go," cried Glyn excitedly. "I could take a lantern with me so as
to make sure there was nothing left."

"Well, yes, sir, it would be wise to take a candle," said
Wrench.--"Wouldn't it, gardener?"

"Nay, my lad; you ought to send the light down first. Then, if it
didn't go out, him as went down wouldn't go out."

"What do you mean?" said Glyn.

"Foul air, sir. Like enough there's some down at the bottom of that
well."

"Oh, there couldn't be any to hurt," cried Glyn eagerly. "I'll go,
Wrench. Get a candle."

"Not I, sir," said the man sturdily. "If any one was to go down that
well it would be me; but there ain't no need for it. I could swear
there's nothing d