“It’s as certain as you’re knee-high to a grasshopper, there’s some one inside!” cried Bates, excitedly.
He walked quickly past a tree to the edge of the steep bank, stopping at a position which afforded a good view into the brightly lighted cabin.
“See anything?” queried one of the students.
“Kind of,” was the rather non-committal response.
Colonel Ellison stepped hastily forward and paused by the student’s side.
“Redfern,” he began, sternly, “I——”
Then, without warning, a curious thing happened.
The bank suddenly began to slide away beneath their combined weight. Bates gave a wild cry of alarm, and scrambled to safety, while Colonel Ellison, finding himself going down amidst an avalanche of dirt, sticks and stones, frantically threw his arms above his head. His hands closed tightly over the tree’s lowest branch, and the next instant the doughty Colonel was suspended over the water, with the branch slowly dipping down beneath his weight.
“Help!” he yelled, in an amazingly loud voice, holding to his frail support with the grip of despair.
“Good land!” cried Bates.