CHAPTER XXIV
DISCLOSURES
“Is it--is it the professor?” gasped Andy, in a low voice.
“I’m almost sure it is,” replied Jerry, “though of course I may bemistaken. But we must find out at once. And, whoever it is will be inneed of help. Someone must go down there.”
“I’ll go!” offered Ned. He was lighter than Jerry, and more lively onhis feet than Bob. In fact, Bob’s accident had made him a bit timid.Andy could hardly be trusted to go down into the deep gully, so Ned wasreally the only available person.
“I’ll go,” he said again. “What’ll I do, Jerry?”
“Find out who it is--and if--if he is living,” replied the tall ladslowly. “Then we’ll have to plan some way of getting him up here.”
Ned laid aside the pack he had been carrying, and took off his coat. Hewanted to be unhampered.
At the point where the trail ended, the gully’s sides were steep. Asa matter of fact, as the boys learned later, the correct trail reallyswung aside from the gully, at that point, and went down into it at aplace farther distant. But whoever had fallen over the precipice hadevidently followed a false trail, and so, unexpectedly, had toppledover, perhaps in the darkness.
“Can you get down, Ned?” asked Jerry.
“Oh, I fancy I can manage it,” was the answer.
Ned had quickly located a place where the descent was easier thanwhere the unfortunate man had fallen, and, a little later, the lad wasscrambling down the slope toward the bottom.
Now and then, on the way down, he paused to pick out a less dangerouspath, and then he kept on. Dirt and stones, dislodged by his progress,rattled toward the bottom. But that silent, huddled-up figure nevermoved, nor showed signs of life. The boys on the brink felt an ominouschill at their hearts.
Ned reached the bottom of the gully. Pausing only an instant to get hisbreath, he hurried toward the prostrate figure of the man, for he hadcome down some distance beyond him.
“Is it the professor?” Jerry hailed his chum from the height.
“Yes,” floated up the answer, faintly.
It needed but a glance to determine the identity.
“Is he--alive?” was the next question.
To Ned it did not seem so, for the figure was very still. Overcoming anatural hesitancy, Ned placed his hand over the professor’s heart. Hedetected a slight beat, so faint as to be almost imperceptible.
“Yes--he’s alive--just about,” Ned called up, after a moment.
“YES--HE’S ALIVE--JUST ABOUT,” NED CALLED UP.]
“Badly hurt?” asked Jerry, next.
“Hard to say,” was Ned’s reply. “We’ve got to get him up, anyhow.”
“Of course,” Jerry shouted back. And then, with him, the problem becameone of deciding how best to aid the luckless professor.
“I’m coming down, Ned,” Jerry called, a little later. Clearly it was aproblem for more than one head to solve.
“You fellows go back to the cabin, and get some ropes and one of thecot beds,” Jerry directed Bob and Andy. “You’ll find the rope in thecorner of the living room. Bring all there is. We’ll have to haul himup. We can’t carry him up this slope.”
Jerry had already sketched out, in his mind, a plan of rescue.
“Lively now!” he called to Bob and Andy, as they set off along the backtrail.
Then Jerry joined Ned at the bottom of the gulch. It was no easy task,and once Jerry slipped and almost plunged down the steep slope, butsaved himself by clutching at some bushes.
Together, as gently as they could, Ned and Jerry straightened outthe form of the professor. He had fallen in a heap, but no limbsappeared to be broken. There was a cut on his head, and this had bledconsiderably, but the blood had coagulated. That seemed to be the mostserious injury, and the one that had made the scientist unconscious.
It appeared that he had not been rendered senseless at once, for itwas evident that he had both eaten and drunk after falling down, sincehis water flask lay empty beside him, and there was an empty basket offood, with crumbs scattered about, showing that he had been able tohelp himself after receiving his hurts.
“How we going to get him up?” asked Ned.
“Put him on a cot, tie ropes to each end, and hoist him up--that’s theonly way I see,” announced Jerry.
“I guess you’re right. He must have had a bad fall.”
“Yes,” agreed the tall lad. “He was probably chasing after some bug, orbutterfly, and came to the edge of the cliff before he realized it. Iwonder what his chances are?”
It seemed many hours to Ned and Jerry, down there with the unconsciousform of the professor, waiting for the return of Bob and Andy. Yet itreally was not long, for the two boys made fast time. Meanwhile theprofessor had been made as comfortable as possible. His specimen boxeswere beside him.
“There they are!” cried Ned, looking up to the top of the cliff. Boband Andy were there.
“Lower the cot,” Jerry directed them, and when it came on the end of along rope, the legs were left folded under it, and the professor wasplaced on it, as on a stretcher, being covered with blankets the boyshad brought from the cabin.
“Now to see if we can haul him up,” suggested Jerry, as he attachedshort ropes, for slings, at either end of the improvised stretcher.
“They can’t do it alone,” said Ned, motioning to Bob and Andy.
“No, we’ll have to go up and help them pull,” agreed Jerry. It washard work--harder than the boys had ever before attempted--or so theythought, at least.
It was finally done, however, and there he lay, stretched out on thecot.
“And now for camp!” cried Jerry. “Carry him as gently as possible.”
It was no easy matter to force their way along the trail, carrying theform of the scientist, but the boys managed it. It seemed as thoughtheir arms would be pulled out before they got to the cabin, but theydid not give up, and finally they reached the lonely camp.
“We must get him into a bunk,” Jerry decided.
They did so, removing most of his clothes. Then Jerry bathed the woundon the head. As the blood was washed away the lad saw that it was noordinary cut.
“I’m afraid his skull is fractured,” said Jerry. “We’ll need the bestdoctor we can get.”
“Then we’d better take the boat, and ask that old hermit where one canbe found,” suggested Ned. “Andy and I will go.”
“I guess that will be a good idea,” rejoined Jerry.
While the two were getting ready to set off, Jerry and Bob managed toget a little cold water between the professor’s lips. This appeared tohave its effect, for the eyelids were lifted from the glassy orbs. Andthen a hoarse voice muttered:
“The papers--letters--a mistake--I have them. The yellow clay--Ididn’t know--so valuable--sorry--Jerry--your mother--the papers--I canprove--they shouldn’t have the land--a fraud--I can give evidence--soonas--two-tailed lizard--I must have it--boys must think me--Oh--Oh!” andhis voice ended in a shriek.
Jerry and his chums looked with startled eyes at one another. What didthis disclosure mean?