as he stood with his face close to the rock:
"here is the spot, if I can get the rope over that projection."

"But then I could not reach it," said Saxe.

"I'll see about that," said Dale, carefully holding on with one hand
while he drew the coil of rope over his head,--no easy task, with his
feet resting upon a very narrow projection, and the rock against which
he pressed himself nearly straight up and down.

"That's right," he said, as he let the coil rest upon one arm, and set
the end free. "Now, Saxe, what's to be done next? There's a block up
there if I could get a loop thrown over it; but lassoing rocks was not
included in my education, and I'm afraid it will be rather difficult
with the left hand."

To Saxe it seemed to be impossible, and he watched intently as he saw
his companion double a portion of the rope so as to make a large loop,
and to tie this he had to hold the twisted hemp right above his head,
pressing his chest against the rock the while so as to preserve his
balance, and more than once Saxe gave a gasp as it seemed to him that
the venturous man was about to fall backward.

But he succeeded, and then let the loop and his arms drop down.

"Hard work," he said. "Five minutes' rest. Curious how wearying it is
to hold your limbs in a fresh position. Now then," he continued, "I've
got to throw that loop over the block up there left-handed. How many
tries will it take?"

Saxe remained silent, for he was by no means hopeful; and he watched
intently as Dale loosened the rings upon his arm and gathered two or
three in his left hand, which he dropped again, while with his right he
tried to get a good grip of the rock where there was scarcely any hold
at all.

"Now," he said, as calmly as if he were about to perform some feat with
a quoit on level ground, instead of being balanced up in a perilous
position, where the slightest loss of equilibrium meant a fall on to
rugged stones of over a hundred feet.

As he spoke he threw up the braced loop so truly that it went exactly
over the projection, and several rings ran off from his arm and hung
down.

"Not a bad throw," he said quietly. "I didn't know I was so clever,
Saxe. The question is, will it hold?"

The test was soon applied, for he drew the rope in slowly, till the
slack was all gathered in, tightened it more and more, and the loop
glided off the projection and fell.

"If at first you don't succeed--eh, Saxe? You know the rest?" crie