Part 33 (1/2)
It was a perilous undertaking to go up the face of the cliff with nothing but a s Forbes reat load seemed lifted from Guy's mind when he heard his friend's voice at the top, and without a moment's hesitation he started up himself
Had the face of the rock been perfectly smooth he could never have reached the suh places he found it a terribly difficult task Two or three ti helpless in o no farther he was pulled to the top without any effort of his own, and fell over froht in aup the rope, they hurried back to the raft
Canaris and Sir Arthur hailed theladly It was the work of a e, and one by one they slid down to the raft
Here a startling surprise awaited thee, half naked and frightfully emaciated, while on the end of the raft rested a canoe much worn and battered
”What on earth does this et that fellow? Is he dead?”
”No, he lives,” replied Canaris ”I heard a strange cry out on the lake That was the ti toward the raft, and when it cah forin the botto else was in the canoe, not even a paddle Just before you cae, and he s to Oko Sam's tribe of Gallas His name is Bildad, and he is the same native as pursued into the cavern by the Abyssinians”
”But how did he get away from the serpent?” asked Forbes
”I don't know,” replied Canaris ”When he gets a little stronger I will find out I gave him some food and he devoured it like a wild beast He was terribly afraid ould kill him, and I could hardly make him believe otherwise”
”And what have _you_ discovered?” exclai with impatience ”Must we die in this horrible place or is there hope of escape?”
Chutney hurriedly related their adventures and the great discovery that had been made
”Yes,” he concluded fervently, ”we have every reason to hope If all goes e shall resume our journey down the river in a few hours”
”Chutney,” cried the colonel sole us and yourself with false hopes The outlet of the lake is found, it is true, and by means of this rope we can reach it, but how are we to travel on down the river? Can you carry this raft over the cliff yonder?”
”Yes,” said Guy, with a confident smile ”I can take the raft over the rocks It can be taken apart, and one by one the logs can be hauled to the top of the cliff and let down on the other side To put it together again will prove no difficult matter”
”A splendid plan, Chutney,” cried the colonel ”I retract what I said
And how about the canoe? Can we take that along also?”
”Yes,” answered Guy, ”ill take it with us on the raft It may prove of use; but the raft, I think, will be safer for us to travel on And now let us set about the task without losing any time The transportation of the raft will be a difficult and arduous undertaking”
”The first thing in order is to get Bildad to the top of the cliff,”
said Canaris
This was not accomplished without some difficulty, for the poor felloas in a pitiable state of weakness; but finally, by putting a noosed rope under his arone up ahead, drew his
Then one by one the bags of provisions, the torches, the paddles, and the arms were tied to the rope and pulled up Sir Arthur was sent up last, and Forbes and the Greek were left alone on the empty raft
After so plan: Forbes and Canaris would take the raft apart and fasten the rope to the logs Sir Arthur and the colonel would draw theently to Chutney on the other side, ould receive thee, loosen the rope, and throw theround, where the soft sand would receive thee, where the torch was still burning Three more stuck in the crevices served to illuminate the top of the cliff
Down in the lake Melton and Canaris quickly severed the withes that bound the raft together, and in a short tiently down to Guy, who stood it endwise on the ledge, loosened the noose, and pushed it over the brink It fell with a dull crash
In half an hour the raft was lying at the bottom of the cliff, and then several alterations were ed places with Forbes, and Sir Arthur, who found his to the top of the cliff and dragging the the summit, took the Greek's place, and went down to assist Chutney with the raft