Page:The Secret of the Caves.djvu/87

"All right," gasped Joe.

"Haul away!"

Chet and Biff began dragging Frank back.

There was a double weight now, for Joe relaxed his grip on the root to which he had been clinging and was now dangling in space, supported only by Frank's firm grip on his wrists. Frank had no idea that his brother weighed so much; the strain was terrific.

Gradually, however, he was drawn back to safety. For one horrible moment he thought he was losing his hold on Joe's wrists, as their locked hands reached the edge of the precipice. But Chet, leaning forward, seized the back of Joe's shirt, clung to him while Biff scrambled over, and together they hauled him up onto the rocks.

For a moment, neither of the Hardy boys could say a word, they were so exhausted by the ordeal. Above them the storm still raged, the rain still poured from the black skies, the lightning still flickered, and the thunder still boomed and rumbled.

"Boy, that was a narrow squeak!" said Chet solemnly, at last.

"Don't talk about it," said Joe, closing his eyes, as though to shut out the memory of the sight. "I can still see the waves away down beneath me. I was never so near death in my life."