"May I go and help?" questioned Harriet eagerly.
"Yes. It's a good idea. Keep her quiet if you can," urged Miss Elting. "She is likely to saw the rope in two at the rate she is floundering about. I hope her belt is strong enough to hold."
"Oh my stars, what a mess!" groaned Jane McCarthy.
"It's worse than that," answered Janus, but he did not explain just what danger threatened the screaming little girl.
Harriet turned the rope over to her companion and hurried to the edge of the shelf, where she stretched herself on the rock with her head protruding over. What she saw was an object that resembled a great spider suspended from a silken thread. The spider was dangling in the air, with arms and legs working frantically. The poor little spider, in this instance Tommy Thompson, was slowly turning from side to side, clawing frantically at the smooth side of the mountain when her hands got into position where she could touch it. Miss Elting was trying to soothe her. Harriet adopted a different policy.
"Tommy!" she cried sharply.
"Oh, thave me! Thave me!" wailed the little tow-headed girl.
"Do you want to drop clear to the bottom?" demanded Harriet.
"No, oh, no! Thave me! I'll be good. I'll—"
"You'll be down there in a heap if you don't stop struggling. Listen to me! Are you going to stop that screaming and do something for yourself, or are we to let you hang there until to-morrow morning?" continued Harriet.