They brought Bill down the culvert without too much difficulty and lifted him up onto the shelf where he could lie down. There was room for Phil and Ronnie to sit, too, and although they had their boots on, they preferred this to standing in the water.
Now that Bill had been taken care of, Ronnie had time to think about plans for their escape. He sat on the edge of the shelf with his feet dangling over the edge and watched the water swirl in from the river. He could go back and continue the plan that Bill had been attempting before his accident. But somehow Ronnie doubted the wisdom of this. There must be a better way.
He looked over at Phil. “Got any ideas?” he asked.
“Ideas about what?”
“Ideas about getting out of here, of course!”
“Not right offhand,” Phil answered. “But I’ll think on it.”
Ronnie didn’t want to count too heavily on that! Phil had never been one for finding a way out of a scrape. Phil had always relied upon his brother for an answer—or he had just simply evaded the issue completely if that were possible.
Bill raised his head a few inches and placed his arm underneath to support himself. “Don’t try my idea,” he said, “it just won’t work. Nobody but the thin man from the circus could get through that opening.”
“I don’t intend to,” Ronnie answered. “Except maybe as a last resort.”
“Yea,” Phil said. “And by that time you’ll be thin enough to squeeze through.”