"Judging from the experiences of our friends, it wouldn"t do us much harm," laughed Ned. "There"s Tad Butler down there. Goodness knows how far he fell, and Chunky got a b.u.mp that would have knocked the breath out of almost anyone. Hooray, T-a-d!" roared Ned in answer to his companion"s signal. "Are you all right?"
The tiny piece of cloth waved more emphatically.
"What"s the matter, can"t you talk?"
The handkerchief fluttered more rapidly.
Ned interpreted this as meaning that the boy could not make himself heard.
"I am afraid he is hurt."
"Can"t be very seriously or he would be unable to stand up and swing that rag," suggested Walter.
"Looks to me as if he were trying to climb up the rocks," announced Chunky.
As they gazed down intently they discovered Tad emerging from the bushes, slowly making his way upward.
"He never can make it," breathed the Professor, anxiously. "He will be killed if he tries it."
"Trust Tad. He knows what he is about. He won"t try to climb up here," returned Ned.
"You"ll see what he"s up to in a minute."
The lad"s object in scaling the steep wall as far as he could was to get away from the roar of the water that was hurling itself furiously through the gorge, so he could talk with his companions.
After ascending as far as the formation of the rocks would allow, Tad perched himself behind a point of limestone and swung his hand gayly to those above.
"You can"t kill a Pony Rider," glowed Ned.
"Yes, judging from what we have been through, you young gentlemen seem to be immune to almost everything. Of course there is liable to be a first time. We don"t want that to happen. But we have a serious difficulty on hand at the present moment. Call to Master Tad. See if he is all right."
Ned did so.
"I got a pretty fair shaking up," answered Tad, in a voice that they could catch only by the most careful attention.
"How far did you fall?" shouted Walter.
"I didn"t have time to measure the distance," answered the voice from below.
The boys uttered a shout of laughter.
"Neither did Chunky."
"What happened to him?"
"He fell over in trying to catch the rope and save you."
"Good boy! Hurt him any?"
"No. It hurt us more in getting him out."
"Ask him if he found the provisions ruined?" suggested the Professor.
Tad informed them that nothing save some of the cooking utensils had been damaged.
All had been too securely packed and wrapped with canvas to insure them against exactly the kind of an accident that had happened.
"Think you can get the stuff up here?" asked Ned.
"I"d like to know how? The rope is all down here. I can"t very well throw the things up to the top of the mountain," replied Tad.
"That"s so. We had forgotten that," muttered the Professor. "And young gentlemen, will you tell me how Master Tad himself is going to get back? Don"t you see my judgment was right when I said it was a dangerous undertaking?"
"It seems so," answered Ned ruefully. "But there must be some way to get the provisions out."
"Bother the provisions," interrupted the Professor, impatiently.
"We"ve something more important than food to consider just now.
Master Tad is down in the canyon and from the present outlook he is liable to remain there for some time. Any of you think of a plan that will help us? Here, Eagle-eye, perhaps you can tell us how to get that young gentlemen out of there."
The Indian shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
"Him stay. Spirits git um bymeby."
"You stop that kind of talk," commanded Ned.
"Tad is calling," interrupted Walter.
"What is it?" asked Ned.
"Get a rope and let down here."
"There is not ten feet of rope in the outfit."
"Send for help then. I"ve got to get out of here somehow."
"Tell him there is no help that we could depend upon, within twenty or thirty miles of here," said the Professor.
CHAPTER VI
MAKING THE BEST OF IT
They were well along in the afternoon now and their predicament was apparently serious.
"There seems to be only one way out of the difficulty," said the Professor, after a little thought.