“If one could get down,” he said to himself; but it did not look possible; the rock was out even of the perpendicular, and no sane person would attempt to drop from the edge so great a distance as that.
At that moment a piece of slaty rock came sliding down from on high, to fall with a crash and splinter on the rock at his feet.
“Must have loosened that,” he said; “good job I didn’t get it on my head. Oh!”
It was a cry of rage as much as of alarm, for there, following his track exactly, was Ram, who had returned repentant, alone, with his basket, to miss his prisoner, search, find the opening, and without hesitation to come down the cliff in pursuit.
Chapter Twenty Six.
For the moment Archy Raystoke was puzzled—completely taken aback. This was something upon which he had not counted; and he stood there looking up, as he saw the boy descending with a far greater show of activity than he could have displayed.
Naturally, the first thought was of further flight, but he had already convinced himself that he was again a prisoner, and as, after another glance down at the ledge below to his left, he looked up at Ram, he set his teeth, and laughed in a way that did not promise well for his pursuer.
“What is he coming down for?” he said to himself, as his teeth began to set fast and his hands involuntarily to clench. “Does he think he is going to drag me up there again? He had better not try.”