Ken glanced back down the hill. Already the first of their pursuers were in sight round the curve of the ravine, barely three hundred yards away.
They were jogging along quite steadily. It was clear that they felt absolutely sure of their men--so sure that there was no need to hurry.
Kemp, conspicuous in his ugly German khaki, was shepherding them upwards.
Ken bit his lip. Inwardly he vowed that he would never be taken alive by the ex-steward. He had a pretty shrewd idea of what his fate and Roy"s would be if they fell into Kemp"s clutches.
"Come on, then," he said desperately, and springing up over the shallow bank of the ravine made a rush for the spot where the rocks seemed to be thickest.
A shout from below told them that their manoeuvre was observed.
"They"re spreading out," said Roy, looking back over his shoulder.
"They"re not shooting, anyhow," answered Ken, as, bent double, he ran hard alongside his companion.
"I suppose they think they"ve got us anyhow," said Roy. "Ken, I"d give a lot to disappoint the dear Kemp."
Up and up they went, bearing a little to the right because it was on that side that the stones lay thickest. They were still both going strong, and were, if anything, increasing the distance between themselves and their pursuers. A little spark of hope began to dawn in Ken"s breast. It seemed just possible that they might still outrun the slower-going Turks, and crossing the ridge, find shelter in the valley below. There was one point in their favour. The sun was dropping low in the west. It would be dark in little more than an hour.
Roy seemed to guess his thoughts.
"We"ll do "em down yet, Ken," he said.
Almost as he spoke he pulled up short, and flung out his arm just in time to stop Ken from plunging right over the sheer edge of a tremendous gorge that gashed the face of the mountain like a slice from a giant"s knife.
For an instant both stood breathing hard, staring down into the darksome depths below. Then Ken turned to Roy.
"That"s why they weren"t hurrying," he said bitterly.
For once Roy seemed cooler than Ken. Throwing himself flat on his face, he wriggled forward till nearly half his body was over the edge.
"Hold my legs," he said, and Ken, horrified at the other"s rashness, obeyed.
A moment later he was on his feet again. There was a queer glimmer in his eyes.
"There"s a chance yet. I"ve spotted a ledge. Don"t count on it. I don"t know whether we can reach it. But it"s worth trying. Come on."
He hurried back down the edge of the cliff for about thirty paces, then looked over again.
"Here it is. It"s a goodish way down. But I"ve tackled places as bad in the North Island mountains. Will you risk it?"
"I"d risk anything rather than Kemp," Ken answered curtly.
"Then I"ll go first. Lie down on your face, and give me your hands.
Quickly. Those beggars mustn"t see us."
Ken obeyed instantly. He knew nothing of mountaineering himself, but realised that Roy did. Without a moment"s hesitation Roy turned round with his back to the ravine, and catching Ken"s hands, let himself drop quietly till his long body dangled at full length against the face of the cliff.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "The strain on Ken"s arms was awful."]
The strain on Ken"s arms was awful. The depths below made his head swim.
But he set his teeth, dug his toes into the earth, and held on like grim death.
"Let go," said Roy briefly.
To Ken it seemed as though he were dropping his friend into the awful abyss. But he obeyed without hesitation.
There was a second of ghastly suspense. Then Roy was standing on the almost invisible ledge, balancing himself, spreadeagled against the face of the rock.
His hands moved slowly, the fingers groping for a hold. He found it, and clutching tightly with his left, raised his right hand.
"My bayonet," he said quickly.
Ken slipped it out of its socket and gave it him.
Roy took it and carefully and deliberately drove it into a crevice in the rock on a level with his head.
"Chuck the rifles over," he said. "You mustn"t leave them."
Ken obeyed. A hollow crash came up from the black depths.
"Now I"m ready for you," said Roy. His voice was so cool and steady that it gave Ken some confidence. "Get as good a grip as you can and let go when I tell you."
For a moment it seemed to Ken that he could not do what was asked. In any matter of fighting he was Roy"s equal--indeed his superior, for he was better able to keep his head in the thick of it.
But he had had no experience of heights, and the blood ran cold in his veins at the idea of dropping over this terrific precipice. It seemed to him the only possible result must be that he would knock Roy off his narrow perch, and that they would go crashing together into the yawning depths of the abyss.
"You"re not scared, are you?"
The contempt in Roy"s tones stung Ken to the quick. He hesitated no longer. Turning quickly, he clutched the rocky ledge and recklessly swung himself down.
"Good man! I knew you could do it. Steady now! I"ve got you. Let go!"
Once more Ken obeyed. He fully believed that he was going to his doom.
Instead, to his intense surprise, he found himself balancing on the ledge beside Roy.
Roy gave a low laugh.
"Sorry I insulted you, old man. I just had to. I know the sort of funk that takes you the first time you try this kind of game. And I give you my word there are precious few chaps would have stuck it at all."
"Now I"ll tell you something to console you," he continued. "The ledge widens to my right, and runs in under a big overhang. Once we"re under that, we"re as safe as rats in a granary. No one can see us from up above or from anywhere else, so far as that goes."
Ken hardly heard. It seemed as if every energy he possessed was needed just to cling where he was, flattened like a dead mole nailed on a keeper"s gibbet.
Roy went on talking in a low quiet voice, which gradually brought back Ken"s confidence, and though his heart was thumping, and he felt as though it was impossible to draw a full breath, he presently managed to follow his companion along the ledge.
As Roy had said, it gradually widened, and after going very carefully for a matter of twenty feet it grew broad enough to walk on with some degree of safety.
A minute later, and they were in a deep hollow--almost a cave and absolutely hidden from all inquisitive eyes.
Roy laughed softly as he dropped to a sitting position.