The man on the Ledge had
probably heard the youngster's voice, and he was puzzled to know where
the sounds had come from.
We sat without moving a muscle. The silence convinced us that the
unknown was listening. We knew that he hadn't climbed from the Ledge to
the top of the crater. The scratching of his shoes against the rock
would have come to our ears. He was waiting--waiting to discover from
what direction the voice had come that caused him to pause and listen.
The minutes passed like slow-dragging years. The man above wore shoes
and the two men who wore shoes, outside our own party, were Leith and
the one-eyed man. Somehow we felt that Maru and Kaipi had settled with
One Eye, so there was only one person on the Isle of Tears who could
possibly be listening.
Ten minutes passed, then Holman pointed to his own legs. I understood
the sign and gripped his ankles. My head was bursting with the terror
inspired by the thought that our escape might be cut off after the
miraculous manner in which the way out had been shown to us.
Without noise, yet with incredible swiftness, the youngster turned upon
his back and wriggled forward till his head and shoulders were again out
over the pit.
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