“And you, Griggs—what do you say?”
“I feel sure of it, sir; but whether we could reach it from down below here or not is another thing.”
“The only way is to prove it,” said the doctor.
“Now, at once, sir?” cried Griggs.
“Well, yes,” said the doctor thoughtfully; “why not?”
He asked the question in a tone of voice that needed no answer, and then turned to Chris.
“We’ll go and examine the place, then, for the Indians must be gone.”
“Oh yes,” said Griggs, “they’re gone, sure enough. But it would be as well for say two to stop here on the terrace and be ready to fire if the enemy should appear again.”
This was soon arranged, Wilton and Bourne undertaking the task, while, after a good look round to make sure that no watching eyes were scrutinising their movements, the little party of four started for the other side of the depression, Chris being so insistent that he felt really well enough to be one, that the doctor shrank from leaving him behind.
The task did not prove very difficult, for they had their previous experience to help them, and they were not long after reaching the foot of the cliff before finding a way up to the lowest terrace, and grasping the fact that the incident that had taken place in the part they had occupied had been repeated here. Whether before or after it was impossible to say, but they found all the traces of a desperate fight, and the defence of a brave people who had held out in cell after cell to the very end.