n all his life walked so far and done such vigorous
climbing.

Then he had come to that precipice, and, thinking he might glimpse
the cottage where the old nurse lived, somewhere down in the valley,
he had incautiously crept too close to the brink, when his weight
caused a portion of the soil to give way. Finding himself falling,
Claude had clutched desperately around him, and, as it happened, his
fingers gripped a friendly bush, to which he continued to cling even
as he struggled to better his condition and shouted as best he was able.

Hugh finished the story, to the edification of "Just" Smith, who
admitted that if it had not been for the courage and muscular ability
of Hugh the other boy must long ago have fallen to the bottom of the
awful precipice. And Claude, shivering as he afterwards looked up at
the forty feet and more of rocky wall, vowed he would never rest
satisfied until he too had learned how to develop his muscles so that
if ever again caught in a similar scrape he might have a fighting
chance for his life.

The two boys eventually found the cottage, although Mrs. Jardine and
the car had gone down the road hoping to overtake Claude, though they
were expected back again later; so, leaving Claude there, Hugh and
"Just" Smith continued their seven-mile run.

CHAPTER XII

STARTLING NEWS FROM THE JUGGINS BOY

"Burr-r-r-r!"

That was the telephone bell ringing.

"Hugh, will you answer it, since the chances are the call is from some
one of your numerous boy chums?" the voice of Mrs. Morgan came from
the dining-room, where she was looking after the silver and china,
after washing up the supper dishes, for they temporarily chanced to
be without a hired-girl.

Hugh guessed as much. He had already been called to the several
times since arriving home after his seven-mile spin. Once it had
been Claude's mother, begging him to be sure and call at her house
early in the morning, because she wanted to have a good, long, earnest
talk with him about Claude's future; and also to let him know how
brimful of gratitude a mother's heart could be toward the brave
boy who, at the risk of his own life, had saved her only child for
her.

Hugh had promised he would see her, although he expected to be very
busy on the morning of the athletic tournament and then expressed the
hope that Claude and herself would honor the tournament with their
presence. This she hastily assured him she meant to do, because
i