Hall was now fully two hundred feet
above the ledge on which I stood, and was rapidly nearing the top of
the precipice. In a minute more he would be safe.
Suddenly he shouted, and, glancing up with a leap of the heart, I saw
that he was falling! He kept his face to the rock, and came down feet
foremost. It would be useless to attempt any description of my
feelings; I would not go through that experience again for the price
of a battleship. Yet it lasted less than a second. He had dropped not
more than ten feet when the fall was arrested.
"All right!" he called, cheerily. "No harm done! It was only a slip."
But what a slip! If the balloon had not carried the anchor several
yards back from the edge it would have had no opportunity to catch
another hold as it shot forward. And how could we know that the second
hold would prove more secure than the first? Hall did not hesitate,
however, for one instant. Up he went again. But, in fact, his best
chance was in going up, for he was within four yards of the top when
the mishap occurred. With a sigh of relief I saw him at last throw his
arm over the verge and then wriggle his body upon the ledge.
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