“And sarve him right,” cried Nick savagely. “What does he do on our cliff, a-maddling wi’ our birds?”
“But it would be such a pity not to take him alive, Nick,” panted Ralph breathlessly.
“How were you going to catch him alive?” growled the man. “Wouldn’t catch us going down to fight un, and you wouldn’t like to crawl down there.”
“Get a rope with a loop, noose him, and drag him up,” cried Ralph.
“Eh? Hear him, Ram? Who’d ha’ thought of that? Comes o’ larning, that does, and going away to school. You’d never ha’ thought on it, lad.”
“Nay, I shouldn’t ha’ thought o’ that,” said Ram heavily; “but I’ve been thinking o’ somethin’ else.”
“What?” said Ralph, as they were mounting the last fifty feet of the steep slope.
“As like enough he’s nipped they two birds, and we’d best look out, or he’ll come sudden-like over the edge there, and run for it.”
“Forward, then, quick!” cried Ralph; and pressing on, he threw himself on his breast, and crawled the last few feet, so as to thrust his head over the edge and gaze down, to see the so-called wolf’s cub sheathe his sword, and prepare to get the young ravens out of their nesting recess in the face of the cliff.