Poor fellow, he must have suffered the most intense agony, but he did not utter a sigh. Weak as he was he was quite conscious of his position, and helped us by planting his feet wherever there was a projection in the rift, and so we hauled him up and laid him on the sand among the bushes, where he could breathe, but where he fainted away.
The rest easily followed, but not until the doctor had sent up every weapon and package through the smoke. Then came his turn, but he made no sign, and in an agony of horror I mastered my dread, and, seizing the scarf, lowered myself down into the heat and smoke.
It was as I feared; he had fainted, and was lying beneath the opening.
My hands trembled so that I could hardly tie a knot, but knowing, as I did, how short the scarf was, I secured it tightly round one of his wrists and called to them to haul just as Jimmy was coming down to my help.
He did not stop, but dropped down beside me, and together we lifted the fainting man, called to them to drag, and he was pulled up.
“Here, ketch hold,” came from above the next moment in Jack Penny’s voice, and to my utter astonishment down came the end of the scarf at once, long before they could have had time to untie it from the doctor’s wrist.
“Up, Jimmy!” I cried, as I realised that it was the other end Jack Penny had had the nous to lower at once.
“No: sha’n’t go, Mass Joe Carstairs.”
“Go on, sir,” I cried.
“No sha’n’t! Debble—debble—debble!” he cried, pushing me to the hole.