"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 wing hit against some jagged projection; but
the tail kept whirling with remarkable swiftness and
the daylight grew brighter and brighter. It was,
indeed, a long journey from the bottom to the top, yet
almost before Trot realized they had come so far, they
popped out of the hole into the clear air and sunshine
and a moment later the Ork alighted gently upon the
ground.
The release was so sudden that even with the
creature's care for its passengers Cap'n Bill struck
the earth with a shock that sent him rolling heel over
head; but by the time Trot had slid down from her seat
the old sailor-man was sitting up and looking around
him with much satisfaction.
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