‘It seems less strong than before.’
He leaned over and dropped a pebble down the well. I waited to hear it splash into water or clatter on stone, but there was no sound at all. Barak looked at me. ‘Seems to have landed on something soft.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I’d hoped to get some idea how deep it was. Well, just have to hope the ladder’s long enough.’ He pulled the rope ladder from his knapsack and quickly secured it to a metal rod in the brickwork where the well bucket must once have hung. He let the ladder go and it unfurled into the darkness. Barak took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and looked at me seriously. I realized he was daunted by the prospect of that descent.
‘Give me a shout if anyone stirs. I wouldn’t want to be caught down there.’
‘I will.’
‘I’ve candles and a tinderbox for when I get to the bottom,’ he said. ‘Wish me luck.’
‘Good luck. And thank you.’
He lifted a hand to his shirt and, loosening a button, put his hand inside to finger his little Jewish symbol. Then he clambered over the side of the well. He found the ladder with his feet and began climbing down. The top of his head vanished into darkness, giving me the strange feeling the well had swallowed him up.
I leaned over. ‘Are you all right?’ I asked in a loud whisper.
His voice came back, hollow and echoing. ‘Ay. That smell’s stronger.’
I glanced at the house again. All was still silent.
‘I’ve touched bottom.’ Barak’s voice echoed with a ringing hollowness. I guessed the well must be deep, perhaps thirty feet. ‘I’m on something soft.’ He called. ‘Cloth. And something else, like fur. Ugh. I’m going to light the candle.’
I heard a scrape, caught a tiny spark far below in the darkness and then another. ‘The arsehole won’t catch! Wait, there it is - oh, hell!’ I jumped back as a startled yell echoed from the pit. At the same moment a sudden flicker of light appeared at a first-floor window in the house.
I grasped the side of the well and leaned in, regardless of the stench. Barak’s candle had gone out again. ‘There’s a light in the house!’ I called out. ‘Get up, now!’
There was a frantic scrabbling as he hauled himself up. I glanced at the house again. The light had moved to the next window. Someone was walking around with a candle. Had they seen or heard us, or was it just someone going to the privy? The end of the rope ladder trembled as Barak climbed rapidly. I reached in and thrust a hand into the darkness. ‘Here!’
A hard hand grasped my own. My back screamed in pain as I helped Barak up. He scrambled out as though the devil were behind him and stood panting beside me, looking over at the house. His eyes were wide and there was a rotten, meaty smell on him. The candlelight was still there, but no longer moving, flickering at one of the windows. Was someone looking out? We were a good distance from the house and partly shaded by the tree, but the moonlight was bright.
‘Here, come!’ Barak whispered urgently. He had grasped the well cap. ‘They may not have seen us. If someone comes out, run!’
We slid the cap back into place and Barak scrabbled for the padlocks he had laid on the lawn. He put them back in place, moving with smooth, practised speed.
‘The light’s gone out!’ I whispered.
‘Right, nearly done.’ He shut the second padlock with a click and stepped away. Just then I heard the creak of a door opening, and a voice I recognized as Needler’s called out, ‘Hey! Who’s that!’
Barak turned and ran for the wall. I followed; he had already bent and made a stirrup of his hands. I glanced back: it was hard to make anything out across the lawn and flower beds but there seemed to be dark shapes in the open doorway. Then I heard an angry bark.
‘Dogs,’ I hissed.
‘Get up, for Jesu’s sake!’
I grasped the wall, put my feet in Barak’s hands, and again he hauled me up. I almost overbalanced but managed to sit astride the wall. I looked back fearfully to see two large black dogs loping across the flower beds, not barking now but running towards Barak in deadly, intent silence.
‘Hurry!’
He grabbed the top of the wall and, setting his feet against the bricks, began hauling himself up. The dogs were almost on him. Behind them I heard footsteps. Needler was following. Then Barak cried out. One of the dogs, a big mongrel, had his shoe and was holding on, growling evilly. The other dog leaped up at me. I almost overbalanced but managed to hold on. Fortunately the wall was too high and the creature fell back. It stood, paws against the wall, barking angrily up at me.