CHAPTER XXXI.
A TERRIBLE BLUNDER.
From his gloomy perch on top of the rock Guy could see all that happened plainly.
Canaris woke his companions as speedily as possible. Their astonishment at finding Guy missing was very great, and at first they seemed scarcely able to comprehend the Greek's explanation.
Then they glanced eagerly overhead; and hailed Guy with shouts of joy.
"Here, hoist me up," cried the colonel. "I'll take him up the torch."
"No, I'll go!" exclaimed Forbes. "I'm a pretty expert climber, colonel, and won't run any risk."
"Bless me!" ejaculated Sir Arthur. "Did that young man Chutney walk up the face of that wall? Why, he's a freak."
Canaris solved the matter by picking up one of the leathern bags and tearing it open.
"Look!" he shouted up to Guy. "It was fortunate we kept these. Here are the ropes and hooks by which we scaled the walls of Harar."
"Hurrah!" cried Chutney. "Just the thing! I had forgotten about them."
"Now," continued the Greek, "both of you can go up the rock and I will remain here with Sir Arthur."
He dragged out the four ropes, spliced two of them together to make the required length, and then, giving the end to Forbes to hold, he threw the iron hook skillfully toward Guy. It landed on top of the cliff, and Guy fastened it securely to a crevice.
"Now you can come up," he shouted down.
Placing a torch in each pocket, Forbes began the ascent, and speedily reached the top. The colonel followed with equal dexterity.
"All right?" called the Greek.
"Yes," replied Chutney; "all right. We will return as soon as possible.
If anything happens fire your gun."
Guy lit a torch, and the glare revealed only the narrow ledge on which they stood. Beneath and overhead was empty space.
They paused a moment to listen to the sound of the running water.
"It is far beneath us," said the colonel; "possibly a hundred feet, but it is the outlet of the lake, I am sure. Upon my word, Chutney, I believe we will get out of this scrape yet."
"Come on," said Guy briefly; and he led the way along the narrow path.
They traveled in silence for five minutes, until the light from the raft had nearly vanished, and then Guy halted suddenly. A wall of rock, steep and smooth, prevented further advance.
"Come, let us go back," he said; they retraced their steps until they were near the starting point.
Under foot were loose fragments of stone. Guy picked up one of these and tossed it over the edge. A faint splash was distinctly heard a few seconds later.
"The river is directly beneath us," said the colonel.
He picked up another stone, and moving off a few yards, cast it down.
This time it struck something hard after the same interval.
"There must be a shore to the river," he said. "What shall we do now?
Follow the top of the cliff in the other direction?"
"No," said Guy. "We must scale the precipice right here."
"Impossible!" declared Forbes. "Our ropes are not long enough."
"Canaris has two more," replied Guy; "go and get them."
Melton hurried off at once.
The raft was close at hand, and in five minutes he was back.
"Here are the ropes," he said. "Canaris tied them together and tossed up one end."
Guy skillfully made one continuous rope about eighty feet long. In breathless silence he let the hook drop over the edge, paying out the line yard by yard.
Seventy-five feet from the top the strain slackened.
"It has reached the bottom," cried Guy joyfully.
"We had better make sure," said Forbes. "Haul up the rope again."
As the hook came over the top Melton grasped it.
"Are the ropes securely tied?" he asked.
"Yes; they won't part," replied Guy.
"All right, then. Hold the end tightly. Here goes."
He flung the hook far into the air, and the next instant Guy felt a sharp jerk.
"The hook is swinging in air," he cried in wonder.
"I was right," said Melton; "that was only a ledge it struck before. The bottom may be a hundred feet or more distant."
Guy hurriedly pulled the rope back and fastened the hook to the top of the cliff. He made a noose in the other end and placed it under his shoulders.
"Now let me down," he said coolly. "If I miss the ledge you can haul me up again."
No one made any objections.