"Hold me tight, man! _I have him!_"
[Illustration: "Hold me tight, Verslun!" he cried. "Hold me tight, man!
_I have him!_"]
I shut my eyes to escape the fascination of the depths, and I gripped
Holman's ankles till my nails burrowed into his flesh. I felt his body
heave with a tremendous effort, then another yell, shorter but more
terrifying than the first, told me that the struggle was over.
I dragged Holman back to safety, and, stretched side by side upon the
rock, we listened. Down in the pit--miles, leagues away, something was
falling!
The youngster pulled himself together after the silence had settled upon
the place like a film.
"Let's tie the rope and get the girls up here," he said quietly, "In a
while--in a little while--I can crawl on to the ledge and pull them up
with a rope."
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXIV
THE WAY TO HEAVEN
With quick-beating pulses we fixed the rope and shouted directions down
the slippery passage to the girls and the Professor, and inside of ten
minutes they were beside us, looking out with frightened eyes at the
coloured wall of the opposite side of the pit.
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