"Nope! I can hang on your neck like a string of beads."
Mike smiled in spite of the danger and felt assured of the undertaking.
He lifted the child with one hand as his other, that was slung over the cable, cut away the belt and coat that were caught in the irons.
"Now, hol' tight!" warned Mike, as the last shred was severed and he swung the little girl about and held her fast.
"Hip, hip, hurrah!" yelled Don, as he jumped up and down with excitement.
An answering call seemed to come from the direction of the camp, and Don wondered if they knew of the escapade.
It was not so easy for Mike to get hold of the rope again with his hands as it was to climb up on it, for Dorothy had to be held with one arm.
After many maneuvers, however, the old trapper managed to shift the little girl upon his chest, where both her arms could hold fast about his neck. Then he slid down the inclined rope and soon felt the ground under his feet.
At the same time, a number of timber-men, with Mr. Starr, Mr. Latimer, Paul and Meredith, came running out of the road that led to camp. They were just in time to see Mike make his descent.
"What's all this?" asked Mr. Starr, suspicious of the twins' mischief.