To stand there in the daytime, with the
wall of the tower behind one, and the precipice at one's feet, would
have been considered very imprudent.
Of course, the task of lowering a man from this ledge, at dead of night,
was perilous in the extreme.
Before allowing the baron to descend, honest Bavois took every possible
precaution to save himself from being dragged over the verge of the
precipice by the weight he would be obliged to sustain.
He placed his crowbar firmly in a crevice of the rock, then bracing his
feet against the bar, he seated himself firmly, throwing his shoulders
well back, and it was only when he was sure of his position that he said
to the baron:
"I am here and firmly fixed, comrade; now let yourself down."
The sudden parting of the rope hurled the brave corporal rudely against
the tower wall, then he was thrown forward by the rebound.
His unalterable _sang-froid_ was all that saved him.
For more than a minute he hung suspended over the abyss into which the
baron had just fallen, and his hands clutched at the empty air.
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