Far down, at the very bottom of the pit, lying close to the edge of the pool of water which had been observed before, they saw Harry, lying perfectly motionless. He had fallen at least a hundred feet.
“It’s terrible!” Frank faltered. “I wish we had never come into the mountains! I wish we had never seen California.”
“He may not be dead,” suggested Jack.
“Not dead!” repeated Frank. “Not dead after a fall like that?”
“I’m not going to give up hope until I’m sure!” Jack answered stoutly.
The two boys stood for a moment gazing down the tremendous fall, and then cast their eyes over the landscape in every direction.
“What are you looking for?” asked Jack.
“Something that will help us lower into the pit.”
“If we only had a long rope,” Jack wailed.
“Well, we haven’t got any long rope,” Frank replied, “and we’ve just got to get down there. We’ve got to find a way.”