He was struggling desperately to gain a foothold on the bluff; but the soft earth always gave way beneath him, and when at last he became exhausted with his efforts, he hung down at arms’ length to recover his breath, glaring up into our faces with an expression as savage as that of a caged hyena.
We saw with no little excitement and horror that a few more attempts of this kind would seal his fate, for the bushes had been loosened by his frantic struggles, and their roots were slowly but surely giving way.
“Now I’ll jest tell you what’s the matter with you,” shouted Sandy. “The fust thing you know, you won’t know nothing. If you want any help, sing out.”
Luke Redman looked up at the bushes, then down at the angry waves which were dashing wildly against the base of the cliff, and being fully convinced that there was no other way of escape for him, said, in a hoarse whisper:
“All right! Here you are!” said Duke. And in a moment more, one end of the rope was dangling over the cliff, and our fellows were holding fast to the other, ready to hoist away when Duke gave the word. “In order to guard against accident, you had better pass the rope under your arms,” continued the latter. “Take it easy. There’s time enough, and the more you thrash about, the more you exhaust yourself.”
Luke Redman thought it best to act upon Duke’s suggestion; but he had grown so weak and was so nearly overcome with terror, that it was with the greatest difficulty that he could make the rope fast under his arms.
He accomplished it at last, however, and then Duke told us to haul away, adding, in an excited whisper:
“Be ready to grab him the instant his head appears above the cliff. Don’t flinch now, but be careful to keep out of the way of his fists, for they are as heavy as sledge-hammers.”
Luke, being utterly unable to help himself, hung like a lump of lead at the end of the rope, and it was any thing but an easy operation to raise him to the top of the cliff. He came up slowly, inch by inch, and at last his head appeared in sight, then his shoulders, and finally the valise, which Mark instantly pounced upon, while Sandy seized the rascal by the collar and pulled him upon the bluff.
“Now stand out o’ the way, or I’ll kick some on you into the bayou,” shouted Luke Redman, whose terror vanished the moment he found himself on solid ground. “I’ve got a pistol in my pocket.”