above their heads. And here the
passage ended.

For a while they gazed in silence, at least two of them being filled
with dismay at the sight. But the Ork merely whistled softly and said
cheerfully:

"That was the toughest journey I ever had the misfortune to undertake,
and I'm glad it's over. Yet, unless I can manage to fly to the top of
this pit, we are entombed here forever."

"Do you think there is room enough for you to fly in?" asked the little
girl anxiously; and Cap'n Bill added:

"It's a straight-up shaft, so I don't see how you'll ever manage it."

"Were I an ordinary bird--one of those horrid feathered things--I
wouldn't even make the attempt to fly out," said the Ork. "But my
mechanical propeller tail can accomplish wonders, and whenever you're
ready I'll show you a trick that is worth while."

"Oh!" exclaimed Trot; "do you intend to take us up, too?"

"Why not?"

"I thought," said Cap'n Bill, "as you'd go first, an' then send
somebody to help us by lettin' down a rope."

"Ropes are dangerous," replied the Ork, "and I might not be able to
find one to reach all this distance. Besides, it stands to reason that
if I can get out myself I can also carry you two with me."

"Well, I'm not afraid," said Trot, who longed to be on the earth's
surface again.

"S'pose we fall?" suggested Cap'n Bill, doubtfully.

"Why, in that case we would all fall together," returned the Ork. "Get
aboard, little girl; sit across my shoulders and put both your arms
around my neck."

Trot obeyed and when she was seated on the Ork, Cap'n Bill inquired:

"How 'bout me, Mr. Ork?"

"Why, I think you'd best grab hold of my rear legs and let me carry you
up in that manner," was the reply.

Cap'n Bill looked way up at the top of the well, and then he looked at
the Ork's slender, skinny legs and heaved a deep sigh.

"It's goin' to be some dangle, I guess; but if you don't waste too much
time on the way up, I may be able to hang on," said he.

"All ready, then!" cried the Ork, and at once his whirling tail began
to revolve. Trot felt herself rising into the air; when the creature's
legs left the ground Cap'n Bill grasped two of them firmly and held on
for dear life. The Ork's body was tipped straight upward, and Trot had
to embrace the neck very tightly to keep from sliding off. Even in this
position the Ork had trouble in escaping the rough sides of the well.
Several times it exclaimed "Wow!" as it bumped its back, or a