Boys -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Boys -- England -- Juvenile fiction
"Right."
"Will!"
"Yes."
"I've fastened my handkerchief to the stump of a bush."
"That's right."
"I say!"
"Well?"
"How shall we get Mr Manners up when they do come?"
"Push and pull," said Will.
"But he's awfully heavy."
"Oh, I know; but we shall manage. I say, I wonder where his paint-box
and things are. Perhaps they all went down with him."
"Not they," said Josh, as his foot kicked against something. "They are
all up here. I've got them. Isn't he awake yet?"
"No--yes--I say, Mr Manners, are you better?"
"I--Where am I?--Oh, yes, I remember. Better? I think so. What are
you doing here?"
"Came to find you, and--"
From above there came a shout.
"Hallo!" said Will. "That's Josh found then."
CHAPTER SEVEN.
THE RESCUE.
"That you, boys?" came from somewhere far above, out of the darkness,
and it was Josh who answered, while Will said in a low tone:
"I say, Mr Manners, I am glad. Now don't you think you could get up?
It's father and Mr Carlile."
The artist made a brave attempt.
"I could stand on one leg," he said, "but that's about all I'm good for.
My ankle gives way at once."
"Then we must just wait," said Will. "That's the only thing to do. It
was my father who called. Say, Josh!"
"Hallo!"
"That you, my boy?" came from above.
"Yes, father."
"I must sit down again," said the artist, in a low tone, for he had been
standing supporting himself against the wall of the ledge.
"No, sir," said Drinkwater, as he flashed his lantern round. "If Mr
Manners has hurt himself and can't walk, as Mr Josh says he has, we
shan't be able to haul him up. The rope I brought wouldn't do it; and
besides, we should have no purchase here."
"Then what are we to do?" said Mr Willows, impatiently. "Tell me what
you advise."
"There's another way down," said the man, sturdily. "We couldn't pull
him up there. I know the place he's on. We can get to it if we go
along here; there's a zig-zag path."
"Capital!" said the mill-owner. "Come along."
The path the man referred to was a roundabout one, but it led them to
the place where the artist lay.
"It's a good job we came, sir," said Mr Willows. "Not a nice place to
spend the night in. You fell down here?"
"Yes," said the artist; "unfortunately."
"Humph!" said the mill-owner. "Now we have got to get you up."
"What a pity he's such a heavy-weight," said Will to Josh, in a whisper.
"Drinkwater has found a special way down here. You will have to lean on
two of us and manage it somehow. Mr Carlile, take the lantern, will
you, please? Now, Drinkwater, get hold of Mr Manners' other arm."
"Right, master."
"Do you think you can do it?" said Mr Willows.
"Don't know," said the artist; "but I will try."
"That's the style," said the mill-owner. "There, lean heavily on me.
You, Drinkwater, get firm hold of his other arm. Slowly does it!" And
the little procession started.
"It took me a long while to get here," said the artist, "but as for
getting back--"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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