"They think we're
calling to them out of vanity to show them where we climbed."
"Oh!" She strangled a sob in her throat. Her heart was weighted as with
lead.
"I'm going to make it. I think I see my way from here," her companion
called across to her. "A fault runs to the foot of the stairway, if I
can only do the next yard or two."
He did them, by throwing caution to the winds. An icy, rounded boulder
projected above him out of reach. He unfastened his belt again and put
the shoes, tied by the laces, around his neck. There was one way to get
across to the ledge of the fault. He took hold of the two ends of the
belt, crouched, and leaned forward on tiptoes toward the knob. The loop
of the belt slid over the ice-coated boss. There was no chance to draw
back now, to test the hold he had gained. If the leather slipped he was
lost. His body swung across the abyss and his feet landed on the little
ledge beyond.
His shout of success came perhaps ten minutes later. "I've reached
the stairway, Miss O'Neill. I'll try not to be long, but you'd better
exercise to keep up the circulation. Don't worry, please. I'll be back
before night."
"I'm so glad," she cried joyfully. "I was afraid for you.
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