was about a
hundred feet wide!

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.

THE HUT.

Karl felt confident they could bridge the crevasse. The only weapons
they had were their knives, and a small wood hatchet which Ossaroo
chanced to have in his belt when they set out in chase of the musk-deer.
True they had their guns, but of what service could these be in making
a bridge?

Ossaroo's knife, as already described, was a long-bladed one,--half
knife, half sword,--in fact, a jungle knife. The hatchet was not larger
than an Indian tomahawk; but with these weapons Karl Linden believed he
could build a bridge of one hundred feet span!

He communicated to his companions his plan in detail, and both believed
in its feasibility. I need hardly say that under such a belief their
spirits rose again; and, though they felt that success was far from
certain, they were once more filled with hope; and having taken all the
necessary steps, in regard to measuring the narrowest part of the
crevasse, and noted the ground well, they returned to the valley with
lighter hearts.

The bridge was not to be the work of a day, nor a week, nor yet might a
month suffice. Could they only have obtained access to both sides of
the chasm it would have been different, and they could easily have
finished it in less time. But you are to remember that only one side
was allowed them to work upon, and from this they would of necessity
have to project the bridge to the other. If they could even have got a
cable stretched across, this would have been bridge enough for them, and
they would have needed no other. A cable, indeed! They would soon have
found their way over upon a cable or even a stout rope; but the stoutest
communication they had was a slender string, and only an arrow to hold
it in its place!

The genius of Karl had not only projected the bridge, but a mode of
placing it across the chasm, though many a contrivance would have to be
adopted, before the work could be finished. Much time would require to
be spent, but what of time when compared with the results of failure or
success?

The first thing they did was to build them a hut. The nights were cold,
and growing colder, for the Himalaya winter was approaching, and
sleeping in the open air, even by the largest fire they might make, was
by no means comfortable. They built a rude hovel therefore, partly of
logs, and partly of stone blocks, for it was difficult to procure logs
of the proper length,