you are till we
signal."

I didn't think, as Holman and I crawled to the top of that place, what
an eventful five minutes that would be. But the big things of life are
crammed into minutes, and Time was bringing the most thrilling one of
our lives toward us as we scrambled up the chute. Our adventures upon
the Isle of Tears were to have a climax that fitted them.

Holman stopped as I had done and thrust his face down upon the rock as
his eyes caught a glimpse of the glittering wall of the crater that came
suddenly into view. The rays of the sun blazing down upon the stained
sides of the mysterious pit made the veins of colour appear like
brilliant snakes. The patch that was framed by the walls of the opening
through which we gazed was a wild riot of scintillating, blinding
colours that dazzled our eyes as we stared at them.

For a minute Holman breathed hungrily of the hot air, then he attempted
to discover our exact position in the crater.

"We must be somewhere near the top," he declared. "Don't you remember
that the colour of the walls darkened rapidly below the Ledge of Death?"

"I remember," I answered. "We must be nearly on a level with the Ledge."

"If we could look out from under this projecting piece of rock,"
muttered the youngster.

"It's risky."

"I'll make a try, Verslun. Hold my legs. I'm going to hang out of this
burrow and take a peep around to get our bearings."

I gripped his legs, and turning upon his back he pushed himself slowly
out over the edge of the passage till he was able to look up in front of
the piece of rock that projected like the peak of a cap above the
opening.

Clinging to this peak with his two hands, the upper part of his body
being out over the abyss, he stared upward, and as I watched his face I
noticed the look of joy and amazement that spread across it.

"What is it, Holman?" I cried. "Are we saved? Tell me!"

He slid hurriedly back to safety and pounded the rock above his head
with his bare fists.

"Do you know what this is?" he yelled. "Do you know?"

I tried to utter the words that came to my tongue, but I could not. I
could see the joy in the youngster's eyes, but I was afraid to speak.

"It is the Ledge of Death!" he shouted. "There is only six inches of
rock above us!"

"Then we're saved!" I cried.

"Sure! If you put the rope around me I can crawl up on it, and once
there I can haul up the others. Do you know what Soma told the Professor
about the bad