"If he offered to take the two thousand, I don't see how we'd give
it to him," said I. "He would n't take our promise for it."

"Thet ain' a-goin' t' bother us any," said D'ri. "Hed thet all
figgered out long ago."

He gave me the candle and lay down, holding his ear close to the
stone floor and listening. Three times he shifted his ear from one
point to another. Then he beckoned to me.

"Jest hol' yer ear there 'n' listen," he whispered.

I gave him the candle, and with my ear to the floor I could hear
the flow of water below us. The sound went away in the distance
and then out of hearing. "After a while it came again.

"What does it mean?" I asked.

"Cipherin' a leetle over thet air," said he, as he made a long
scratch on the floor with his flint. Then he rubbed his chin,
looking down at it. "Hain' jest eggzac'ly med up my mind yit," he
added.

We blew out the light and lay back, whispering. Then presently we
heard the coming of footsteps. Two men came to the door with a
candle, one being the guard we knew.

"Come, young fellow," said the latter, as he unlocked the door and
beckoned to me; "they want you upstairs."