"Never mind the wagon. It's the horses we must save," answered Miss Elting. "We can't leave them to suffer."
Fifteen minutes of hard labor sufficed to raise the horses a little and to place them in greater comfort. The sharp edges of the beams no longer cut into the flesh, and their breathing was less labored. The party paused to rest from their efforts.
"If we had some rope and pulleys we could get the animals out without much difficulty," reflected Janus. "But how to do it now I don't know. I swum! I'm dead-beat."
"Can you lift?" questioned Jane.
"Tolerable."
"Then why not pick up first one fore-foot, then another, and place them on the planks. You'll see what the horses will do then."
Janus scratched his head and fingered his beard.
"I swum, Jim!" he grinned, "let's try it."
Each man took hold of a fore-foot of each horse, and, without much difficulty, raised it to the planks before each animal. They were about to go after the other fore-foot when Tommy, who had been standing back at a safe distance, attracted their attention by uttering a little cry.
"Oh, look! it ith growing light," she exclaimed.