“Can’t get down without a ladder,” observed Ned.
“What’s the matter with jumping from one of the outside windows?” asked Jerry.
They thought the idea a good one until they saw that the only one there was opened onto a pile of sharp rocks, into which even a jump of fifteen feet might be dangerous.
“What’s to be done?” asked Bob.
“Guess we’ll have to wait until Jones comes to see if we are dead,” replied Jerry. “Then he can cover the cistern and raise the ladder.”
“I guess we’ll have a long wait for Jones,” commented Ned. “He’s so afraid of this place that he’ll never come within hearing distance of it.”
“Let’s yell out of the window,” suggested Bob.
They did so, uniting their voices in a volume of sound. It seemed to have no effect though, for there was no movement about the colored man’s cabin.
“Once more,” urged the professor.
This time they produced a result, for, down the road they could see Jones come to the door of his shack and peer out. Thereupon they waved their hands to him, and in a few minutes the colored man was standing as close as he seemed to dare to come to their shelter.