Those bits of wood make easy work of it."

Then the captain at once began to descend, and was soon standing
beside his son and Surajah.

"Thank God that job is finished! How do you both feel?"

"My arms feel as if they had done some work, Father. I have been four
or five months without practice, or I should hardly have felt it."

"And how are you, Surajah?"

"I feel ashamed at having been let down like a baby, Captain Holland,
and at being so nervous."

"There is nothing to be ashamed of," Captain Holland said. "Rope
climbing is a thing that only comes with practice; and as to
nervousness, most landsmen are afraid to trust themselves to a rope at
all. Did you open your eyes?"

"Not once, Sahib. I kept my arms out, as you told me, but I did not
touch anything. I could feel that I was spinning round and round, and
was horribly frightened just at first. But I went down so smoothly and
quietly that the feeling did not last long; for I knew that the rope
was very strong, and as I did not touch anything, it seemed to me that
there could be no fear of it being cut against the rock."

The clothes were soon unwound from the rope, and put on again. Captain
Holland cut off all the slack of the rope, and made it into a coil.

"The slope is all right, as far as I could see from the top," he said;
"but we may come across nasty bits again, and this will stand in
useful, if we do."

They went down cautiously, but at a fair rate of speed; until, without
meeting with any serious difficulty, they arrived on the plain. Four
miles' brisk walking brought them to the grove where Ibrahim had been
left, and they had scarce entered among the trees when he asked:

"Who is it that is coming?"

"It is us, Ibrahim. We have got my father!"

Ibrahim gave an exclamation of joy, and a minute later they joined
him.

"You were not asleep, then, Ibrahim?" Dick said.

"No, my lord. I have slept during the day, and watched at night; but I
did not sleep yesterday, for I was growing sorely anxious, and had
begun to fear that harm had befallen you."

"Well, let us be off at once. Of course, we have had to leave the
horses behind us, and I want to be at Cenopatam by daybreak. We will
buy horses there."

They struck across the country to the southwest, until they came on a
road between Magree and Cenopatam, and arrived within sight of the
latter town just at daybreak. As they walked, Dick and Surajah had,
with no small amount of pain, remove