Chippy's main purchase was on a root of gorse which cropped up at the edge of the pit. He aimed to swing himself back with all his might, depending on his grasp of the root. The root snapped short off close to the ground, and Chippy went tumbling and sprawling head-long into the pit, landing at the man's feet.
CHAPTER XIV
CHIPPY AND THE SPY
The latter sprang up with a savage cry that was not English. 'Ach Himmel!' cried he, and again, 'Ach Himmel!'
At that moment of immense surprise, his native tongue sprang to his lips before any other, and he leapt upon Chippy, and seized him with hands that trembled.
The leader of the Ravens was not hurt, and his coolness was splendid.
'Hello, Albert!' he said; 'it's all right. There's no need to 'elp me up.'
'Help you up!' hissed the stranger. 'What are you doing here? What do you mean by watching me?'
His Cockney accent, too, was wiped out as if by magic. Probably he had forgotten for the instant that he had used it in Locking. At any rate, he did not use it now. But his English was perfect, in word and tone—the English of a well-educated man.