Part 31 (1/2)
”Here, hoist me up,” cried the colonel ”I'll take hio!” exclaimed Forbes ”I'm a pretty expert climber, colonel, and won't run any risk”
”Blessman Chutney walk up the face of that wall? Why, he's a freak”
Canaris solved theit 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 theo up the rock and I will reed out the four ropes, spliced two of the 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 co a torch in each pocket, Forbes began the ascent, and speedily reached the top The colonel folloith 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 awater
”It is far beneath us,” said the colonel; ”possibly a hundred feet, but it is the outlet of the lake, I aet out of this scrape yet”
”Co the narrow path
They traveled in silence for five ht from the raft had nearly vanished, and then Guy halted suddenly A wall of rock, steep and so 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, andoff a few yards, cast it down
This ti 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 ht here”
”Ih”
”Canaris has two et them”