CHAPTER XXXII.
GOOD-BY TO THE LAKE.
Melton dropped the rope and staggered back from the cliff, his facedeadly pale.
"Yes," he said hoarsely, "you--you are right, Chutney. How could we havedone such a foolish thing? From that narrow width of the ledge one couldnot throw a rope twenty feet in air. We are hopelessly cut off from ourcompanions."
"Hullo, down there!"
It was Carrington hailing them from the top of the cliff, and they couldmake out his figure dimly in the torchlight.
"What is the matter?" shouted Guy lustily, making a trumpet of hishands.
In a moment the reply came distinctly to their ears.
"Canaris hears a strange cry from the lake. You had better come up."
"We are cut off," Guy shouted back. "We cannot get the rope back to thetop of the cliff. Go tell Canaris"--his voice sank to a whisper, and hedropped on the sand beside Melton.
The colonel did not answer. The torch moved off along the cliff and thenstopped, no doubt directly above the raft.
"He has gone to aid Canaris," said Guy. "I would like to know what istaking place on the lake."
"Ah!" said Forbes, "here he comes back now."
The torch moved along until it was directly over their heads, and thenthe colonel called down:
"Come up to the ledge. I have a way to save you."
Guy and Melton sprang to their feet in amazement. They could hardlybelieve they had heard aright.
"What can he mean?" cried Guy.
He seized the rope and started up hand over hand, placing his feet onthe rough places in the wall.
Melton joined him on the ledge a moment later. The torch he had leftthere was still burning, and its light showed the colonel where theywere.
"Watch sharp below there," he cried, and almost instantly Guy feltsomething dangling before his face. He put out his hand and clutched athin cord.
"By Jove, Melton, it's the fishing lines!" he exclaimed. "The colonelhas tied them together."
No directions were needed to tell them what to do next. Guy loosened thehook and fastened the line to it securely.
"Go ahead," he shouted to the colonel, and the rope instantly began toascend.
In less than five minutes, though it really seemed an hour, the colonelsignaled down that all was ready.
It was a perilous undertaking to go up the face of the cliff withnothing but a smooth rope to hold to, but at Guy's bidding Forbes madethe attempt.
A great load seemed lifted from Guy's mind when he heard his friend'svoice at the top, and without a moment's hesitation he started uphimself.
Had the face of the rock been perfectly smooth he could never havereached the summit, and even by the aid of the rough places he found ita terribly difficult task. Two or three times he swung helpless inmid-air, and just when he felt that he could go no farther he was pulledto the top without any effort of his own, and fell over from sheerexhaustion. He was all right in a moment or two and, hauling up therope, they hurried back to the raft.
Canaris and Sir Arthur hailed them gladly. It was the work of a momentto attach the hook to the top of the ledge, and one by one they sliddown to the raft.
Here a startling surprise awaited them. Among the rugs lay adark-skinned savage, half naked and frightfully emaciated, while on theend of the raft rested a canoe much worn and battered.
"What on earth does this mean?" exclaimed Chutney. "Where did you getthat fellow? Is he dead?"
"No, he lives," replied Canaris. "I heard a strange cry out on thelake. That was the time I fired my rifle. Then I saw this canoe driftingtoward the raft, and when it came near enough for me to catch hold of Ifound this poor fellow lying in the bottom. Nothing else was in thecanoe, not even a paddle. Just before you came I was talking to him. Iknow a little of the language, and he managed to tell me that he belongsto Oko Sam's tribe of Gallas. His name is Bildad, and he is the samenative who was 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 willfind out. I gave him some food and he devoured it like a wild beast. Hewas terribly afraid we would kill him, and I could hardly make himbelieve otherwise."
"And what have _you_ discovered?" exclaimed Sir Arthur, who was burstingwith impatience. "Must we die in this horrible place or is there hope ofescape?"
Chutney hurriedly related their adventures and the great discovery thathad been made.
"Yes," he concluded fervently, "we have every reason to hope. If allgoes well we shall resume our journey down the river in a few hours."
"Chutney," cried the colonel solemnly, "I fear you are deceiving us andyourself 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 ondown the river? Can you carry this raft over the cliff yonder?"
"Yes," said Guy, with a confident smile. "I can take the raft over therocks. It can be taken apart, and one by one the logs can be hauled tothe top of the cliff and let down on the other side. To put it togetheragain 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, "we will take it with us on the raft. It may proveof use; but the raft, I think, will be safer for us to travel on. Andnow let us set about the task without losing any time. Thetransportation 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 fellowwas in a pitiable state of weakness; but finally, by putting a noosedrope under his arms, Chutney and the colonel, who had gone up ahead,drew him in safety to the top and placed him on a couple of rugs.
Then one by one the bags of provisions, the torches, the paddles, andthe arms were tied to the rope and pulled up. Sir Arthur was sent uplast, and Forbes and the Greek were left alone on the empty raft.
After some consideration they decided on the following plan: Forbes andCanaris would take the raft apart and fasten the rope to the logs. SirArthur and the colonel would draw them up, pull them along the top ofthe cliff, and lower them gently to Chutney on the other side, who wouldreceive them on the ledge, loosen the rope, and throw them down theremaining fifty feet to the ground, where the soft sand would receivethem without injury.
Guy was speedily lowered to the ledge, where the torch was stillburning. Three more stuck in the crevices served to illuminate the topof the cliff.
Down in the lake Melton and Canaris quickly severed the withes thatbound the raft together, and in a short time the first log was swunggently down to Guy, who stood it endwise on the ledge, loosened thenoose, 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 thenseveral alterations were made. Chutney exchanged places with Forbes, andSir Arthur, who found himself unequal to the task of pulling the heavylogs to the top of the cliff and dragging them along the summit, tookthe Greek's place, and went down to assist Chutney with the raft.
Sir Arthur and Guy transferred themselves to the canoe as the raft grewsmaller, and when the last log went up they noosed the rope about thecenter of the canoe itself and went up hand over hand and joined theothers.
The canoe was pulled up with some difficulty, and lowered to Guy, whoallowed it to remain on the ledge, which, though narrow, was ten ortwelve yards long. The baggage was next lowered, and then, one at atime, Bildad going first, they descended to the platform where Guy wasawaiting them.
Forbes was the last one down, and, with a dexterous jerk, he threw thehook loose from above, and it but narrowly missed their heads as itcleared the ledge and struck the ground. It was dragged back and hookedin place.
The final descent was not free from accident, for the canoe slipped fromthe noose
and fell with a crash, but with no other mishap all reachedthe solid earth, and with the casting off of the rope from the ledge wassevered the last link that connected them with the underground lake andits horrors.