te.

Then the necessity of trying to think up some plan by which he might
escape from the pit caused him to put Buck out of his mind.

The boys had always said that Fred was the most ingenious fellow they
had ever known. He could invent schemes that often made some of the
duller-witted chaps fairly gasp, and declare he must be a wizard.

If ever he had need of that faculty it was now. If wishing could give
him a pair of wings, or bring a convenient rope into his hands, the
other end of which was tied to a neighboring tree, Fred was ready to
devote himself heart and soul to the task.

Outside of his short running trunks, a light, close-fitting shirt, and
the socks and running shoes which were on his feet, Fred did not have
another particle of clothing along. He was bareheaded. Without even a
bit of string, a pocket knife, or even a match on his person, what
chance then did he have to escape from that lime quarry pit?

And it was very damp there in the bargain. Water oozed across one corner
of the hole. If he had to stay there twelve hours, the chances were he
would take a severe cold that might prove serious.

Really, the more he looked the situation in the face the more it
appalled him. Try as he might he could think of no new plan that gave
the slightest promise of results. If he kept on endeavoring to climb
that slippery wall until he fell utterly exhausted, what would that
avail him? Better to go slow and reserve at least a small portion of his
energies, in case, later on, he did think up some scheme that had a
faint show of success.

How about shouting for help? Colon had tried that game, and it had not
worked, simply because there happened to be no one near the old mill at
the time. Later on, however, his simple groans and grunts attracted the
attention of the prowling Gabe, and led to what would have been his
rescue, even had not Fred and the others arrived on the scene.

But here, in this quarry where no one ever came, so far as he knew, what
chance was there of his shouts being heard? Fred thought about one in a
thousand. Still, there was no choice for him. And perhaps that one
little chance might pan out; he had known of stranger things happening,
in his own experience.

So he lifted up his voice and called:

"Help! help! Oh! help!"

It was a cry that must thrill anyone who heard it, welling up out of
that deep pit. Waiting a minute or more, Fred started in again, and
shouted louder than ever.

L