The valise hung under one of his arms, supported by a strap which passed over his opposite shoulder; but his gun was nowhere to be seen. He had evidently made some desperate attempts to climb up the steep bluff, for we could see the prints of his knees and feet in the soft earth.
When we had made these observations, we drew back on the cliff to hold a consultation.
“Hasn’t he got himself into a pretty scrape?” asked Duke, gleefully. “I understand what has happened as well as if I had been here on the bank and witnessed it.”
So did the rest of us, for the robber’s situation was a sufficient explanation of the accident that had befallen him. It had been his intention to lower himself over the side of the bluff, and find concealment on the top of the drift-wood which formed one side of the cavern; but his feet had slipped, or his hold had given way, and he had fallen down the steep bank almost into the water.
In order to save himself, he dropped his gun, which of course fell into the bayou, and now he was unarmed. His situation was dangerous in the extreme, and it was no wonder that he was frightened.
He could not climb up the bluff without assistance, for it was as slippery as ice; and if he released his hold on the bushes, he would fall into the water, and be whirled into the cavern before he could have time to think twice. Dead Man’s Elbow seemed to be an unlucky place for Luke Redman.
“Now, fellows,” continued Duke, in a hurried whisper, “I’ll tell you what we will do. We’ll take our halters off our bridles, make them into a rope, and when Mr. Redman gets tired of hanging to those bushes, we’ll pass one end of it down to him, and pull him up the bluff.”
“But perhaps he won’t take hold of the rope,” said I. “Then what?”
“Then he can fall into the water and welcome. But there’s no danger of that. Bad as he is, he isn’t tired of life.”
“What shall we do with him when we get him up here?”
“We’ll jump on him, and tie him hand and foot—that’s what we’ll do with him. I guess we five fellows are a match for him.”
Duke’s plan was the best that could have been adopted under the circumstances, and we agreed to it without a word of comment.
In a few moments we had removed our halters from our bridles, and tied them together, thus forming a rope about thirty feet in length. When this had been done, we once more stretched ourselves out on the ground, and looked over the cliff to watch the movements of the robber.