found herself looking straight down the
face of a high cliff to the blue waters of the lake. Lifting her eyes
she could look across and see the distant wooded hills of the Green
Mountains, and could hear the "Chiming Waters" of the falls.

"It's lovely. But what do they have a door here for?" Faith asked.

And then Nathan explained what forts were for. That a door like that
gave the soldiers who held the fort a chance to look up and down the
lake in order to see the approach of an enemy by water. "And gives
them a chance to scramble down the cliff and get away if the enemy
captures the fort from the other side." Then he showed Faith the two
big cannon that commanded the lake and any approach by the cliff.

"But come on. I must take you home," he declared, moving as if to
close the door.

"Could we get out any other way than by going back through that
passage?" asked Faith, who thought that she never wanted to see the
two sisters again, and now feared they might be waiting for her.

"Certainly we could. That is, if you are a good climber," replied
Nathan. "I'll tell you something, that is, if you'll never tell," he
added.

"I won't," Faith declared earnestly.

"Well, I can go down that cliff and up, too, just as easily as I can
walk along that passage. And the soldiers don't pay much attention to
this part of the fort. There's a sentry at the other end of the
passage, but he doesn't mind how I get in and out. If you'll do just
as I say I'll take you down the cliff. My boat is hidden down by
Willow Point, and I'll paddle you alongshore. 'Twill be easier than
walking. That is, if you're not afraid," concluded Nathan.

"No, I'm not afraid," said Faith, thinking to herself that here was
another secret, and almost wishing that she had not agreed to listen
to it.

"Come on, then," said Nathan, stepping outside the door, and holding
tightly to the door-frame with one hand and reaching the other toward
Faith. "Hold tight to my hand and don't look down," he said. "Look to
the right as you step out, and you'll see a chance for your feet.
I've got a tight hold. You can't fall."

Faith clutched his hand and stepped out. There was room toward the
right for her to stand. She heard the big door clang behind her. "I
had to shut it," Nathan said, as he cautiously made his way a step
down the face of the cliff. Faith followed cautiously. She noticed
just how Nathan clung to the outstanding rocks, how slowly and
carefully he