“Ranni! Pilescu?” he cried, and Paul tried to force apart the heavy logs of wood.
“Ranni! Are you there? Pilescu, are you hurt?” cried Paul, in a low voice.
There was an astonished silence, and then came Ranni’s voice, mingled with Pilescu’s.
“Paul! Little lord! What are you doing here? Paul, can it be you?”
“Yes — I’m here and Mike and Jack,” said Paul. “We have come to rescue you.”
“But how did you get here?” cried Ranni, in amazement. “Did you come through the mountain and down the river into the depths of the Secret Forest?”
“Yes,” said Mike. “It has been a tremendous adventure, I can tell you.”
“Are you all all right?” asked Pilescu.
“Yes, except that we’re awfully hungry,” said Jack, with a laugh.
“If you can move those logs, with our help, we will give you food,” said Ranni. “We have some here in this pit. The robbers put bread and water here, and we have plenty. Goodness knows what they meant to do with us. I suppose they captured us because they knew we had found the secret of their coming and going, and did not want us to tell anyone.”