It was a perilous undertaking to go up the face of the cliff with nothing but a smooth rope to hold to, but at Guy"s bidding Forbes made the attempt.
A great 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 summit, and even by the aid of the rough places he found it a terribly difficult task. Two or three times he swung helpless in mid-air, and just when he felt that he could go no farther he was pulled to the top without any effort of his own, and fell over from sheer exhaustion. He was all right in a moment or two and, hauling up the rope, they hurried back to the raft.
Canaris and Sir Arthur hailed them gladly. It was the work of a moment to attach the hook to the top of the ledge, and one by one they slid down to the raft.
Here a startling surprise awaited them. Among the rugs lay a dark-skinned savage, half naked and frightfully emaciated, while on the end of the raft rested a canoe much worn and battered.
"What on earth does this mean?" exclaimed Chutney. "Where did you get that fellow? Is he dead?"
"No, he lives," replied Canaris. "I heard a strange cry out on the lake. That was the time I fired my rifle. Then I saw this canoe drifting toward the raft, and when it came near enough for me to catch hold of I found this poor fellow lying in the bottom. Nothing else was in the canoe, not even a paddle. Just before you came I was talking to him. I know a little of the language, and he managed to tell me that he belongs to Oko Sam"s tribe of Gallas. His name is Bildad, and he is the same native 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 will find out. I gave him some food and he devoured it like a wild beast. He was terribly afraid we would kill him, and I could hardly make him believe otherwise."
"And what have _you_ discovered?" exclaimed Sir Arthur, who was bursting 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 well we shall resume our journey down the river in a few hours."
"Chutney," cried the colonel solemnly, "I fear you are deceiving 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, "we will 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 fellow was in a pitiable state of weakness; but finally, by putting a noosed rope 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, 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 some consideration they decided on the following plan: Forbes and Canaris would take the raft apart and fasten the rope to the logs. Sir Arthur and the colonel would draw them up, pull them along the top of the cliff, and lower them gently to Chutney on the other side, who would receive them on the ledge, loosen the rope, and throw them down the remaining fifty feet to the ground, where the soft sand would receive them without injury.
Guy was speedily lowered to the ledge, 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 time the first log was swung gently 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 made. Chutney exchanged places with Forbes, and Sir Arthur, who found himself unequal to the task of pulling the heavy logs to the top of the cliff and dragging them along the summit, took the Greek"s place, and went down to a.s.sist Chutney with the raft.
Sir Arthur and Guy transferred themselves to the canoe as the raft grew smaller, and when the last log went up they noosed the rope about the center of the canoe itself and went up hand over hand and joined the others.
The canoe was pulled up with some difficulty, and lowered to Guy, who allowed it to remain on the ledge, which, though narrow, was ten or twelve yards long. The baggage was next lowered, and then, one at a time, Bildad going first, they descended to the platform where Guy was awaiting them.
Forbes was the last one down, and, with a dexterous jerk, he threw the hook loose from above, and it but narrowly missed their heads as it cleared the ledge and struck the ground. It was dragged back and hooked in place.
The final descent was not free from accident, for the canoe slipped from the noose and fell with a crash, but with no other mishap all reached the solid earth, and with the casting off of the rope from the ledge was severed the last link that connected them with the underground lake and its horrors.
CHAPTER x.x.xIII.
A TERRIBLE RIDE.
Their first act showed the true character of these brave men.
"Let us thank G.o.d for our deliverance," said Guy solemnly, and kneeling on the wet sand--an example that was followed by all--he offered a simple and fervent prayer.
Renewed hope was visible on their faces when they rose to their feet in the dim light of the torch.
"We will put the raft together," said Guy, "and then have something to eat before we start."
It was but a short distance to the water"s edge, and by all working industriously the logs were soon lying on the sandy beach, and Forbes was fastening them together as before.
Bildad, from the warmth of the rugs, watched these proceedings with a look of mute wonder on his dusky features.
As soon as the raft was ready the baggage was placed on it.
"Take the canoe along," said Forbes. "It is too badly shattered by the fall to use, but it will furnish us with torches and firewood."
There was room to spare, so the boat was placed on one end of the raft, and then sitting on the sand they made a hearty meal of crackers and figs.
"I don"t admire the appearance of that river very much," remarked the colonel. "It comes through the cliff as though shot by a cannon. No wonder, though, when you think of the terrible pressure from above."
"We will make up for lost time by rapid traveling, then," said Forbes.
"Ah, you think so?" cried Sir Arthur. "Bless me, I hope we will. I have an engagement to dine with Lord Balsover at the Hotel Bombay at Aden on the 10th at six o"clock in the evening. He touches there on his way to India, and I can"t disappoint him, you know."
"Drop him a few lines, Ashby, and postpone the engagement a couple of weeks," remarked the colonel dryly.
"Bless me! Can I do that?" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Sir Arthur.
The laugh that followed was cut short by Guy"s short, decisive voice: "Get ready, it"s time to start."
The raft lay partly in the water, and with a hearty shove from all it was pushed clear of the sh.o.r.e. Forbes and Canaris held it while it tossed up an down in the swirling eddies.
"Get on board," directed Guy, setting the example himself, and a.s.sisting Bildad.
Forbes remained on sh.o.r.e, holding the corner of the raft till all had pa.s.sed on board. It trembled fiercely in his grasp, as though eager to be off on the journey.