When the ground collapsed under Thad, his right leg falling through, his eyes had widened and he had instinctively spread out both arms to keep from plummeting the rest of the way into the cavern. The rocks and packed dirt widened until the hole was a little bigger around than the top of a barrel, and the slim young man dug his fingers into the earth to arrest his fall.
"MARSHAL! MARSHAL DILLON! HELP!"
Matt had already been slowly making his way up to where Thad was, having discouragingly surveyed the lower areas for the smallest opening in the rocks. Hearing his friend's call for help, he rapidly scrambled up the rest of the way to the top, saw Thad slipping into the hole, and ran over, praying that the ground would hold his bulk. Doc had told him once about how a father had saved a boyhood friend who had fallen through an ice-covered pond, so Matt stopped about nine feet from Thad. He lay down on his belly, arms forward and legs spread, evenly distributing his two hundred and thirty pounds, and inched forward until the young man could grab his hands.
"I got ya, Thad! Hang on tight now!" the Marshal instructed as he wriggled his way backwards, pulling him from the hole. He had been concentrating fully on saving his friend, but now heard an echoing voice rise from the now empty opening.
"MATTHEW! Are ya up that? Miss Kitty and me sure need to git up outta here pronto! Water's risin' fast!" Festus' unmistakable voice called.
As Thad lay gasping on the ground about fifteen feet back, Matt carefully wriggled forward and peered down into the dimness of the cavern. Once his eyes adjusted, he was stunned to see Kitty and Festus far below, clinging together in dark water that had now reached above Kitty's waist. "KITTY! Are you all right?" he asked, and saw her nod her head, her large eyes wide and frightened. "You and Festus are standing on a rock, right? Don't even move enough to answer! I'll be right back!" His mind whirling through scenarios, he made a decision and turned his head to look at Thad, who was now sitting up, eager to help. "THAD! Get our lassos! HURRY!" Matt knew that the young man could run like the wind, and prayed he would be even faster than usual.
"Yes SIR!" Thad fairly flew across the rough ground, and scrambled recklessly down the rocks to the horses. Panting, he snatched the coiled rope from the Marshal's grazing horse's saddle and ran to his dozing Bay. "My rope! Where's my rope?!" he frantically yelled, his eyes searching his saddle, saddle bags, and the surrounding ground. He knew every second counted, so gave up, put the rope around his neck, one arm through the coils, and scaled the rocks again. "Here's yours, Marshal. I don't know what happened to mine. I…I'm sorry I didn't notice it was missing." Thad stood twenty feet away, red-faced, catching his breath.
"We'll make do, Thad. Stay there and slide it to me." Matt had eye-balled the distance down to Festus and Kitty, and doubted that one lasso would be long enough, even if not tied to the nearest rock or sturdy bush. When the rope reached him, he carefully rolled just enough each way to tie it around his chest, under his broad shoulders, and tossed the remainder into the hole. "FESTUS! Can you reach the rope?!" Gripping his end, Matt squinted down into the cold and dark, alarmed by the rapid rising of the rushing water. Fortunately, the hole was only a few feet over from where the two stood balancing on the slippery, water-cover rocks. He gently made the rope sway towards them.
"Miss Kitty, hang onta my belt, and don't let go!" Festus ordered. As soon as he felt her tight grip, he let go of her and strained both arms up towards the swinging rope, so tantalizingly near but impossible to reach. "Just a mite lower, Matthew! LOWER!" he hollered, putting his arms straight out to the sides to balance when Kitty and he began to slip.
"If only we had that other rope!" Matt thought in frustration. Glancing back at Thad, he yelled, "Thad! Hurry up and wriggle forward far enough to grab my ankles! He can't reach the rope and that water is still rising fast!" He hoped that the additional few feet of his upper torso would make the difference, but guessed that the rope was really about eight or ten feet short.
Thad started to get down on his stomach, paused a moment in thought, then wriggled up to the Marshal as fast as he could, unknotted the rope from around the man's upper back, and rapidly pulled the rest up from the hole.
"Whaa…? What are you DOING, Thad?! We don't have time.." Matt burst out angrily as he rolled over to glare at his assistant who was quickly knotting the end of the rope securely around his own ankles.
"Lower me down, Marshal. With my arms hanging down, I'll add another seven feet or more to the rope. I'm the one who didn't check for my lasso! We don't have time to argue, Sir!"
Matt and Thad's eyes met and the older man nodded his head, tied the other end of the rope around his waist and stood up, bracing his feet as the slender man went unhesitatingly and trustingly into the hole head first. The veins on his big, strong hands stood out as Matt lowered Thad down and down, anxious to hear that the two in the cavern had been reached. "Please God, help us to save them! Help me to use this strong body you gave me, and for Thad to be tall enough! Please, dear God!" Matt prayed fervently through clenched teeth as the rope disappeared down and down into the cavern.
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Festus was stunned and dismayed when he saw how short the rope was, and then even more so when it was quickly pulled back up to the surface. But he knew that "Matthew" would never give up on them, and wrapped his arms around Kitty again, determined to maintain their balance on their increasing slippery perch as the water surged and rose around them. "He done musta had another idear, Miss Kitty. We gotta hang on!" Then another rush of dark water swept against them, and Kitty lost her footing, taking Festus with her into the frigid water. The strong hill man fought his way back to the submerged boulder, one hand gripping a crevasse, the other with an iron grip in the flailing woman's baggy shirt. Coughing and sputtering, he dragged himself up and hauled Kitty after him.
"Thank…thank you…Festus," she said through chattering teeth as once more they stood precariously atop the boulder, clinging together. She looked up at the small circle of bright blue sky high overhead, and thought of Matt up there. "I'm so grateful that he is safe, but know he will break his heart and body to save us. Please have him know when to give up, God. Please spare him," she silently prayed, putting her face against Festus' chest as his grip tightened instinctively in understanding and a desire to comfort.
"FESTUS! FESTUS! I'M COMING!" Thad's voice reverberated in the large space and the two who had given up hope looked up in disbelief at the sight of the lanky young man slowly descending upside down, his long arms stretched down towards them.
To be continued…