you into a hole?"

"Not at all," I replied. "I blame you for getting me altogether too far
out of the hole."

"Well, you needn't. If it hadn't been for your stupidity, we shouldn't be
here now."

"What!"

"Certainly. Why didn't you jump off as we passed the mouth of the well?"

"My dear Hawkins," I said mildly, "do you realize that we flitted past
that particular point at a speed of about seventy feet per second? Why
didn't you jump?"

"I--I--I didn't want to desert you, Griggs," rejoined Hawkins weakly,
looking away.

"That was truly noble of you," I observed. "It reveals a beautiful side of
your character which I had never suspected, Hawkins."

"That'll do," said the inventor shortly. "Are you going down first or
shall I?"

"Do you propose to trust all that is mortal of yourself to that capricious
little ladder again?"

"Certainly. What else?"