“Louder, Rob! Louder!” he besought.
“A rope! Bow—arrow—shoot it up!” came Rob’s voice, audible to few, but his chum Merritt was the only one that understood. He was back among the Scouts in a flash. He seized Paul Perkins by the shoulder.
“Paul, your house is nearest. Run! Run as you never ran before and get your archery bow and lots of arrows.”
Paul didn’t stop to ask the meaning of this strange command, but darted off at top speed, the crowd opening for him.
“Ropes! Ropes and lots of string!” shouted Merritt next, appealing to the throng. Those who were closest realized that a plan to save Rob—although what it was they couldn’t imagine—was to be tried. Neighbors of the Academy ran off at once and in a few minutes the Scouts were busy, under Merritt’s directions, knotting ropes together to form one long line.
When this had been done, Merritt measured with his eye the height of the Academy walls. Then he set them to work knotting light twine together in as long a line as they could make. By this time Paul was back with the bow and arrow that the Scouts used at archery practice.
“Give it here,” ordered Merritt tersely if ungrammatically.
What he was going to try was a repetition of the trick that had rescued some of the Eagle Patrol when they were imprisoned on the top of Ruby Glow in the Adirondacks on their memorable treasure hunt.
With a hand that was far from steady, Merritt knotted the end of the light string to an arrow. Then, placing the arrow in position, he drew the bow. It was plain enough to the dullest-witted now what he meant to do. His plan was to shoot the arrow, with the string attached, up on the roof where Rob could seize it. This done, it would be possible for the latter—if he had time—to haul up the rope, knot it to a chimney and slide down. It was a daring, desperate plan, but none other offered, and the fact that Rob had suggested it showed that his nerve was not likely to fail him in what might be aptly described as a supreme test.
Amid a dead silence Merritt let the arrow fly. It shot through the air, but instead of reaching the roof it struck the wall and rebounded. A cry went up from the watching crowd as it fell, having failed to accomplish its purpose. If Rob’s face changed as he stood up there on the edge of the fire-illumined roof, it was not visible to those below him, keen as his disappointment must have been.