He had planned how he would do this. He couldn't shoot in a lying-down position, and kneeling would expose him to the guard just as surely as standing upright would do—if the guard happened to be looking. So, he would shoot while standing erect. His accuracy would be better that way.
Rick fitted the arrow's nock to the bowstring, got his fingers in position to draw, and flexed the bow slightly. Then, taking a deep breath, he stepped calmly forward to the edge of rock.
It took only three steps to bring him within sight of the guard. He had a quick vision of a black velvet cap, hunched shoulders, and a rifle held casually across the knees. He drew smoothly, held for the briefest instant, and released the shaft.
Scotty was at his side, rifle ready, the moment the shaft left the bow.
It wasn't necessary. Rick had an instant's impression of sound, like a baseball slapping into a catcher's mitt. The guard didn't even move from his position. His shoulders slumped a little more and his head went forward between his knees. He stayed that way. The arrow skittered across the stone shelf and stopped.
Rick knew his aim had been a little off. The ball had caught the guard behind the ear, instead of directly in the back of the head. Cold sweat bathed the boy at the nearness of it. He had almost missed!
But there wasn't time to think about that now. Scotty and Zircon were already moving into action. The big scientist unwound the rope ladder from around his waist while Scotty drove spikes into a cleft in the lava. His wooden mallet, muffled with cloth padding, made only a dull, almost inaudible sound.
Zircon secured the end of the ladder to the spikes, then put his weight on it, testing. It held. He moved forward, and lowered the free end over the cliff.
Rick and Scotty stood by to give a hand to the men on the ledge below. They were already on their way, Howard Shannon first.
Rick eyed the village anxiously. He was sure they were practically invisible against the dark lava, but he wouldn't feel secure until they had moved out of sight.