so long as the
work was possible.

His feet were paining him, and were certain to pain him a good deal more
before he reached the top; but healthy, rugged youth has elastic
muscles, and in a short time Fred was ready to resume his work. His
panic was gone, and he exerted himself with the deliberate care which he
should have shown from the first.

As nearly as he could judge he had climbed some twenty paces, when he
was startled, upon extending his hand upward, to encounter only the
smooth face of the wall. Hitherto there had been more projections than
he required, but now the steps appeared to vanish, leaving him without
any support.

Could it be he would have to abandon his effort after making so fine a
start? Must he pick his way down the side of the canyon, again, to the
cavern, and there meekly resume the torture of waiting for death from
starvation? Failure was too terrible to be thought of, and he resumed
his searching for the indispensable support.

Certainly there was nothing directly above him that would serve, and he
passed his right hand to one side. Ah! he caught the sharp edge, after
groping for a few seconds. Leaning over, he reached out as far as
possible and found the projection extended indefinitely.

"It will do!" he muttered, with a thrill, and, without pausing to
reflect upon the fearful risk of the thing, he swung himself along,
sustained for an instant by his single hand; but the other was
immediately alongside of it, and it was easy to hold himself like a
pendulum swaying over the frightful abyss. But there was nothing upon
which to rest his feet. He did not wish anything, and, swinging
sideways, threw one leg over the ledge beside his hands, and,
half-rolling over, raised himself securely for the time on his perch.

"Gracious!" he exclaimed, pausing from the effort; "if I had stopped to
think, I shouldn't have dared to try it. If this ledge had been smaller
I shouldn't have found room for my body, and there is no way of getting
back to the stone on which I was standing. I _must_ go on now, for I
cannot go back."

It was plain sailing for a few minutes. The flinty excrescences were as
numerous as ever, and he never paused in his ascent until prudence
whispered that it was wise to take another breathing spell. It was a
source of infinite comfort to feel that when he thus checked himself he
was not compelled to do so for lack of support.

There was no way of determining how far he had clim