"Can we?" she questioned helplessly.
"We can, simply because we must," and his white teeth shut together
firmly. "There is no possibility of retracing our steps downward, but
with the help of this daylight we surely ought to be able to discover
some path leading up."
He rose cautiously to his feet, pressing her more closely against the
face of the cliff, thus holding her in comparative safety while
preventing her from glancing back into the dizzy chasm. The most
difficult portion of their journey was apparently just before them,
consisting of a series of narrow ledges, so widely separated and
irregular as to require each to assist the other while passing from
point to point. Beyond these a slender cleft, bordered by gnarled
roots of low bushes, promised a somewhat easier and securer passage
toward the summit. Hampton's face became deathly white as they began
the perilous climb, but his hand remained steady, his foot sure, while
the girl moved forward as if remaining unconscious of the presence of
danger, apparently swayed by his dominant will to do whatsoever he bade
her. More than once they tottered on the very brink, held to safety
merely by desperate clutchings at rock or shrub, yet never once did the
man loosen his guarding grasp of his companion.
Pages:
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55