"Oh, pshaw! that's too bad," grumbled the boy. "But wait a minute."
Striking a match and shading his eyes with one hand, he peered up to the hole in the rocks. He noted a long narrowing crevice extending back from the main opening.
"I'll tell you what to do."
"Yes."
"Draw the rope into that crack as far as it will go, then tie a knot in the rope so it cannot slip through. I'll climb up—"
"You couldn't get up here. The end of the crack is too far from the place you see. Hold on, here's another crack just like it, right here in the rocks by me. I'll fix it. You all promise not to tell on me?" insisted the girl.
"Yes, yes, yes, we promise. We'll promise anything just now," laughed
Ned.
An interval of silence followed while the girl was adjusting the end of the rope. Then she called down to them:
"All ready?" asked Tad.
"Yes, try it."