“I never felt frightened at all,” said Fred.
“Oh?”
“Well, not much. Come along.”
They approached cautiously, finding that the shelf grew narrower, and evidently ended in a point.
“Mind!”
“Mind what?”
“I’ve got to the end of the rope.”
“Well, let’s leave go, and creep to the edge without it.”
“No,” said Fred, who felt that the rope was like a hand connecting them with the upper surface. “Perhaps it has caught somewhere, and we haven’t got it all loose. Wait till I give it a jerk. Here, leave go for a moment.”
Scarlett loosened his hold, and Fred stepped back a foot or two before sending a wave along the cord, which was followed by a rattling noise, as if a quantity of the shale and earth had been set at liberty, and was falling in a shower upon the rocky floor.