Ned quickly obeyed the instructions of the guide, lying down flat on his stomach, and wriggling along in that way as best he could.
Lige took a firm hold of his belt.
"I can't see anything," breathed the boy.
At first his eyes were unable to pierce the blackness. But after a little, as they became more accustomed to it, he began to comprehend. Below him yawned a black, forbidding chasm.
Ned shivered.
"Walt didn't—didn't——"
Lige inclined his head.
"Are you going to keep me in this suspense all night?" demanded the
Professor irritably. "What have you discovered?"
The guide, before replying, assisted Ned back to his feet, leading him to a safe distance beyoud the dangerous precipice.
"There's no doubt of it at all, Professor. He has left a trail as plain as a cougar's in winter. He must have stepped off the edge at the exact point where you saw me lying."