Guy hurriedly pulled the rope back and fastened the hook to the top of the cliff. He made a noose in the other end and placed it under his shoulders.
"Now let me down," he said coolly. "If I miss the ledge you can haul me up again."
No one made any objections.
It was perilous, of course, but some one had to do it, and why not Chutney?
They lowered him into the darkness foot by foot, and at last the strain slackened.
"All right," came the welcome cry from below. "I'm on the ledge. It's two or three feet wide. Now come down hand over hand, one of you."
"I'll go," said Forbes. "You will have to remain here, colonel, to help us again."
Meanwhile Guy had lit a torch, and when Melton began the descent the yellow glare was visible far below.
The face of the cliff, though sheer, was full of rough projections for his feet, and in a short time he stood beside Chutney on the ledge.
Wrapping the end of the rope about his arm, Guy called loudly, "Throw the hook far into the air, colonel. Do you understand?"