and hop to you, and free you."

On this explanation of his elaborate and difficult plan Alice made no
observation for some time, because, even to _her_ faculties (which were
obtuse enough on mechanical matters), it was abundantly evident that,
the boy's hands being tied firmly behind his back, he could neither cut
the ropes that bound her, nor untie them.

"What d'ye think, Alice?"

"I fear it won't do; your hands are tied, Corrie."

"Oh! that's nothing. The only difficulty is how to get on my knees."

"Surely that cannot be _very_ difficult, when you talk of getting on
your feet."

"Ha! that shows you're a--I mean, d'ye see, that the difficulty lies
here; my elbows are lashed so fast to my side that I can't use them to
prop me up; but if Poopy will roll down the hill to my side, and shove
her pretty shoulder under my back when I raise it, perhaps I may succeed
in getting up. What say you, Kickup?"

"Hee! Hee!" laughed the girl, "dat's fuss rate. Look out!"

Poopy, although sluggish by nature, was rather abrupt and violent in her
impulses at times. Without further warning than the above brief
exclamation, she rolled herself towards Corrie with such good-will that
she went quite over him, and would certainly have passed onward to where
Alice lay--perhaps over the cliff altogether--had not the boy caught her
sleeve with his teeth, and held her fast.

The plan was eminently successful. By a series of jerks on the part of
Corrie, and proppings on the part of Poopy, the former was enabled to
attain a kneeling position, not, however, without a few failures, in one
of which he fell forward on his face, and left a deep impression of his
fat little nose in the mud.

Having risen to his feet, Corrie at once hopped towards Alice, after the
fashion of those country wights who indulge in sack races, and, going
down on his knees beside her, began diligently to gnaw the rope that
bound her with his teeth. This was by no means an easy or a quick
process. He gnawed and bit at it long before the tough rope gave way. At
length Alice was freed, and she immediately set to work to undo the
fastenings of the other two; but her delicate fingers were not well
suited to such rough work, and a considerable time elapsed before the
three were finally at large.

The instant they were so, Corrie said, "Now we must go down to the foot
of the cliff, and look for poor Bumpus. Oh, dear me! I doubt he is
killed."

The look of horror which