yaks," or grunting oxen, in the valley; and these formed for a time the
staple article of their food. Caspar, who, though younger than Karl,
was the more skilled hunter of the two, had a very narrow escape from
the old yak bull; though he succeeded at length in killing the dangerous
animal. Ossaroo was very near being eaten up by a pack of wild dogs--
every one of which he afterwards succeeded in killing; and Ossaroo was
also in danger of being swallowed up by an enemy of a very different
kind--that is by a _quicksand_, into which he had got his legs while
engaged in taking fish out of a net!

Karl was not without _his_ hair-breadth "'scape"--having been chased by
a bear along a ledge of the cliff, from which he was compelled to make a
most perilous descent. The bear itself took refuge in a cave, where it
was afterwards pursued and killed, by all three acting in concert,
materially assisted by the dog Fritz. They had incurred great risk in
this chase of the bear: for although they had succeeded in destroying
the formidable animal they lost themselves in the great labyrinthine
cavern, and were only able to find their way out by making a fire with
the stocks of their guns, and rendering the bear's-grease available for
candles--which fortunately enabled them to extricate themselves.

During the pursuit of the bear, and their subsequent endeavours to find
their way out, our adventurers had been struck by the enormous
dimensions of the cavern in which the animal had taken refuge; and in
the hope that some of its great galleries might lead out through the
mountain, and offer them a way of escape from the valley, they had made
torches, and explored it from end to end. It was all to no purpose; and
becoming satisfied that there was no exit by way of the cavern, they had
at length desisted from the search.

From this point shall we continue, in more circumstantial detail, the
history of their attempts to escape from their mountain prison; which
they were now convinced could only be done by _climbing the cliff_ that
encircled it.

The Cliff Climbers--by Captain Mayne Reid

CHAPTER FOUR.

HOME TO THE HUT.

Emerging from the cave after their fruitless exploration, all three--
Karl, Caspar, and Ossaroo--sat down upon the rocks in front of the
cliff, and for some time remained silent. The looks of all betokened a
deep and hopeless despair. The same thought was passing in their minds.
A painful thought it was--that