Steadily the sub. began to haul in his flimsy line, while the fisherman dexterously paid out the coil of rope, the end of which he had made to Aubyn's means of communication. Then, as soon as he saw that Terence had secured one end of the rope, the old man hitched on the large pulley and continued to pay out more cordage until the block was within the sub.'s grasp.
Whipping out his knife Terence cut off about six or seven feet of rope, using the severed portion as a strop to make fast the block to a pair of rafters. Then passing the rest of the rope through the sheave his means of effecting the rescue of the children were ready for service.
"Stand by to lower away," he shouted, as he made a loop known as a "bowline on a bight."
"Ay, ay," replied the old salt, at the same time signing to Waynsford and Nalder to bear a hand.
Giving a final tug at the strop to make sure as far as possible that the rafter would hold, Terence slid into the loop and swung himself clear of the wall.
"Belay there," he hailed after being lowered a sufficient distance to bring himself level with the remains of the bedroom floor. "Now, little lass, I'll hold you. Don't be afraid."
The next moment the injured girl was safe in his arms. Although the bed shook as the rescued child moved, it still withstood the tendency to slip into the abyss. Twenty seconds later Terence handed his charge over to a doctor who formed one of the rapidly-gathering crowd in the street.
"There's another child—a baby," announced Aubyn. "Badly hurt, I fancy so haul me up smartly."
Spinning round and round like a joint on a meat-jack the sub. again ascended, till the smaller child's body was within reach of his arms. As he whipped off the covering he gave an ill-suppressed exclamation of horror. The left foot of the little victim had been torn away at the ankle.
"Good heavens, Waynsford!" exclaimed Terence, after the child-victims had been removed, and the justly-exasperated crowd began to disperse. "I'm not a vindictive fellow, but if I had that low-down German who gave orders for this butchery, it would give me the greatest pleasure in the world to punch his head."