"IN TWO MINUTES I WAS UNDER THAT OPEN WINDOW"
"I shall make a noise; he will hear me——"
"He didn't hear me——"
"That's no proof he won't hear me. But I forget the gale, and that sound—what is it?"
"Tin cans rattling; loose in some gutter, I suppose——"
"It is infernal." Then with sudden resolution—a resolution I hardly understand, for I certainly did not feel called upon to risk either self-respect or safety in this cause—I cried out: "I'll try for it; though it's long since I put my agility to the proof. But how am I to get onto the roof?"
For reply, Sweetwater uttered a low but peculiar call, and a shadow near by became a man.
"Lend your back to this gentleman," said he; and as I took advantage of the assistance thus afforded me and worked my way up onto the ledge over his head, he softly added:
"Catch hold of everything that offers, and be careful your feet don't slip. When you're up, give one look and come down. We will be on hand to catch you when you get to the edge of the roof."