f the cliff with them."

The hunter's gaze met that of the lad, and it was full of approval.

"I believe you've found the way, Robert," said Willet. "Wake Tayoga
and see what he thinks."

The Onondaga received the proposal with enthusiasm, and he made the
further suggestion that they build high the fire for the sake of
deceiving the besiegers.

"And suppose we prop up two or three pieces of fallen tree trunk
before it," added Robert. "Warriors watching on the opposite slopes
will take them for our figures and will not dream that we're
attempting to escape."

That idea, too, was adopted, and in a few minutes the fire was blazing
and roaring, while a stream of sparks drifted up merrily from it to be
lost in the dusk. Near it the fragments of tree trunks set erect would
pass easily, at a great distance and in the dark, for human beings.
Then, while Willet watched, Robert and Tayoga knotted the vines with
quick and dextrous hands, throwing the cable over a bough, and trying
every knot with their double weight. A full two hours they toiled and
then they exulted.

"It will reach from the clump of bushes about the fountain to the next
clump below, which is low down," said Robert, "and from there we can
descend without help."

They called Willet, and the three, leaving the crest which had been
such a refuge for them and which they had defended so well, descended
to the fountain. At that point they secured their cable with infinite
care to the largest of the dwarf trees and let it drop over across a
bare space to the next clump of bushes below, a distance that seemed
very great, it was so steep. Robert claimed the honor of the first
descent, but it was finally conceded to Tayoga, who was a trifle
lighter.

The Onondaga fastened securely upon his back his rifle and his pack
containing food, and then, grasping the cable firmly with both hands,
he began to go down, while his friends watched with great anxiety. He
was not obliged to swing clear his whole weight, but was able to brace
his feet against the cliff. Thus he steadied the vines, but Robert and
Willet nevertheless breathed great sighs of relief, when he reached
the bushes below, and detached himself from the cable.

"It is safe," he called back.

Robert went next and Willet followed. When the three were in the
bushes, clinging to their tough and wiry strength, they found that the
difficulties, as they invariably do, had decreased. Below them the
slope was not