He hurried back to where he had left his horse, and took from the horn of the saddle the rope which no cowboy is ever without. With this Dave took a turn about the man's waist, passing the rope under him. He then carried an end back to a stout tree and tied it there, working, the while, deftly and swiftly. "That will hold you in case you slip when I loosen the rocks and free your foot," Dave explained. "You are pretty well overbalanced. But I'll get you up, all right." The man was in a peculiar and perilous position, but Dave thought that he could cope with the situation. His life on the plains, and amid the perils of the range had made him resourceful, and quick to take advantage of all the chances for safety. Dave looked at the man's foot. It was firmly wedged in between two rocks that came together in the form of a large V. Considerable pressure must have forced the man's foot there, for Dave could see that the stout leather of his riding boot was cut and scraped. The foot was twisted, and Dave remarked, in a low voice: "If you haven't a badly sprained ankle I'll miss my guess!" "Watch yourself now," David cautioned the man. "You can't fall, even if you slip over, for the rope's strong enough to hold you; but you may get a bad jerk when you bring up suddenly if you fall after I release your foot." "I'm ready," said the man. Dave looked at the two stones between which the man's foot was wedged. Then with a heavy tree branch, inserted in such a way as not to bring any crushing force on the stranger's leg, Dave used the branch as a lever and pressed down with all his might. "It's giving!" the man cried. "I can feel it giving!" "Look out for yourself!" Dave shouted. Once more he pressed down hard on the tree lever. The rocks were pried apart. The man's foot slipped free. Dave, seeing this, dropped the branch, made a grab for the leg, for the man's body was going over the cliff. Of course he could not fall _far_, as the rope would hold him, but Dave wanted to save him this jerk if possible. The young cowboy caught the stranger's boot. Dave was aware of a cry of pain from the man, and realized that the ankle must be severely injured. "I can't help it," thought Dave, grimly. "I've got to hurt him some to save him more," and he held on desperately. Dave was strong, and the man, now that his foot was free, was able to use his hands to push himself back, up over the edge of the cliff. After a few seconds of rather strenuous struggle Dave, with the help of the man himself, was able to get him to a sitting position on the edge of the cliff that overhung the gully. The man was pale, and his face was scratched and bleeding. His clothing was disheveled, and he showed many signs of the struggle through which he had gone. "Thank--thanks," he gasped, weakly. "Now don't try to talk until you get your breath," Dave advised him. "Here, drink some of this. It's warm, but it's wet."