Part 10 (1/2)

”No,” I gasped. ”If I move I'm afraid I shall fall.”

There was the same fierce drawing in of the breath, the crawling sound again, and a hand touched my face, pa.s.sed round it, and took a tight hold of my collar.

”Lie quite still, Cob,” was whispered; ”I'm going to draw you up. Now!”

I felt myself dragged up suddenly, and at the same moment the earth and stones upon which I had been lying dropped from under me with a loud hissing rus.h.i.+ng sound, and then I was lying quite still, clinging to Uncle Bob's hand, which was very wet and cold.

”How did you come there?” he said at length.

”Crawled there, trying to get to you,” I said.

”And nearly went down that fearful precipice, you foolish fellow. But there: you are safe.”

”I did not know it was so dangerous,” I faltered.

”Dangerous!” he cried. ”It is awful in this horrible darkness. The mountain seems to have been cut in half somewhere about here, and this fog confuses so that it is impossible to stir. We must wait till it blows off I think we are safe now, but I dare not try to find a better place. Dare you?”

”Not after what I have just escaped from,” I said dolefully.

”Are you cold?”

”Ye-es,” I said with a s.h.i.+ver. ”It is so damp.”

”Creep close to me, then,” he said. ”We shall keep each other warm.”

We sat like that for hours, and still the fog kept as dense as ever, only that overhead there was a faint light, which grew stronger and then died out over and over again. The stillness was awful, but I had a companion, and that made my position less painful. He would not talk, though as a rule he was very bright and chatty; now he would only say, ”Wait and see;” and we waited.

The change came, after those long terrible hours of anxiety, like magic.

One moment it was thick darkness; the next I felt, as it were, a feather brush across my cheek.

”Did you feel that?” I said quickly.

”Feel what, Cob?”

”Something breathing against us?”

”No--yes!” he cried joyfully. ”It was the wind.”

The same touch came again, but stronger. There was light above our heads. I could dimly see my companion, and then a cloud that looked white and strange in the moonlight was gliding slowly away from us over what seemed to be a vast black chasm whose edge was only a few yards away.

It was wonderful how quickly that mist departed and went skimming away into the distance, as if a great curtain were being drawn, leaving the sky sparkling with stars and the moon s.h.i.+ning bright and clear.

”You see now the danger from which you escaped?” said Uncle Bob with a shudder.

”Yes,” I said; ”but did--do you think--”

He looked at me without answering, and just then there came from behind us a loud ”Ahoy!”

”Ahoy!” shouted back Uncle Bob; and as we turned in the direction of the cry we could see Uncle Jack waving his white handkerchief to us, and we were soon after by his side.