“Can you bring up the big man?”
“With a rope, master.”
“Quick, then: we have no time to spare.”
“And the Hudi, master?”
“What of him?”
“He made them come. We tied him, feet and hands.”
“Untie him, but leave him. He can make them come again!”
A rope was quickly unshipped from the car and strongly looped. Abdul descended, the rope being held by both Oliphant and Tom above, who, doubtful whether their strength would stand the strain of the ponderous German’s weight, hitched it round a rocky prominence at the brink of the hill. But fear lent Schwab extraordinary agility—as once before in the enclosure of Midfont House. With the rope looped about him, he hauled himself up by it, assisting his progress with his feet against the hill. He was in a bath of perspiration, his fat face was pale as death, when he reached the top and sank exhausted at Tom’s feet. Oliphant and Tom together hoisted him into the car, and by the time he was settled, Abdul had cut the Jew’s bonds and again clambered up, pursued by entreaties, wild threats, execrations, from the luckless Salathiel ben Ezra.
Glancing in the direction of Ain Afroo, Tom rejoiced to see that he had still about ten minutes to spare before the pursuing horsemen could arrive at the spot. He knew from experience that with Schwab as a passenger the ascensional screws did not exert sufficient power to lift three other men; but when Oliphant had reminded him of this, a way out of the difficulty suggested itself. If once the airship could be raised from the ground and the horizontal screws set in motion, it was likely that, with the speed thus obtained, they might suffice (the planes being inclined at the proper angle) to overcome the downward pull of gravity.