l they
were near the starting point.

Under foot were loose fragments of stone. Guy picked up one of these and
tossed it over the edge. A faint splash was distinctly heard a few
seconds later.

"The river is directly beneath us," said the colonel.

He picked up another stone, and moving off a few yards, cast it down.
This time it struck something hard after the same interval.

"There must be a shore to the river," he said. "What shall we do now?
Follow the top of the cliff in the other direction?"

"No," said Guy. "We must scale the precipice right here."

"Impossible!" declared Forbes. "Our ropes are not long enough."

"Canaris has two more," replied Guy; "go and get them."

Melton hurried off at once.

The raft was close at hand, and in five minutes he was back.

"Here are the ropes," he said. "Canaris tied them together and tossed up
one end."

Guy skillfully made one continuous rope about eighty feet long. In
breathless silence he let the hook drop over the edge, paying out the
line yard by yard.

Seventy-five feet from the top the strain slackened.

"It has reached the bottom," cried Guy joyfully.

"We had better make sure," said Forbes. "Haul up the rope again."

As the hook came over the top Melton grasped it.

"Are the ropes securely tied?" he asked.

"Yes; they won't part," replied Guy.

"All right, then. Hold the end tightly. Here goes."

He flung the hook far into the air, and the next instant Guy felt a
sharp jerk.

"The hook is swinging in air," he cried in wonder.

"I was right," said Melton; "that was only a ledge it struck before. The
bottom may be a hundred feet or more distant."

Guy hurriedly pulled the rope back and fastened the hook to the top of
the cliff. He made a noose in the other end and placed it under his
shoulders.

"Now let me down," he said coolly. "If I miss the ledge you can haul me
up again."

No one made any objections.

It was perilous, of course, but some one had to do it, and why not
Chutney?

They lowered him into the darkness foot by foot, and at last the strain
slackened.

"All right," came the welcome cry from below. "I'm on the ledge. It's
two or three feet wide. Now come down hand over hand, one of you."

"I'll go," said Forbes. "You will have to remain here, colonel, to help
us again."

Meanwhile Guy had lit a torch, and when Melton began the descent the
yellow glare was visible far below.

The face of the cliff, though sheer, was ful