you are in danger."

"Not I, my lad, if you don't want me to; but it is awk'ard. Stand
clear," he shouted. "I'm coming down. No, I arn't," he said directly
after, as he made a tremendous effort to reach a tough stem below,
failed, and then dropped and caught it, and swung first by one hand and
then by two.

"I say, Mas' Don, I thought I was gone."

"You made my heart seem to jump into my mouth."

"Did I, lad? Well, it was awk'ard. I was scared lest I should knock
you off. Felt just as I did when the chain broke, and you could see the
link opening, and a big sugar-hogshead threatening to come down. All
right now, my lad. Let's get on down. Think we're birds' nesting, Mas'
Don, and it'll be all right."

Don had to nerve himself once more, and they steadily lowered themselves
from tuft to tuft, and from stone to stone, with more confidence, till
they were about thirty feet from the foot, when farther progress became
impossible, for, in place of being perpendicular, the cliff face sloped
inward for some distance before becoming perpendicular once more.

"Well, I do call that stoopid," said Jem, as he stared helplessly at
Don. "What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know, Jem. If we had a bit of rope we could easily descend."

"And if we'd got wings, Mas' Don, we might fly."

"We must climb back, Jem, as--Look here, would these trees bear us?"

"Not likely," said Jem, staring hard at a couple of young kauri pines,
which grew up at the foot of the precipice, and whose fine pointed tops
were within a few feet of where they clung.

"But if we could reach them and get fast hold, they would bend and let
us down."

"They'd let us down," said Jem drily; "but I don't know 'bout bending."

Don clung to the face of the rock, hesitating, and wondering whether by
any possibility they could get down another way, and finding that it was
absolutely hopeless, he made up his mind to act.

"It is next to impossible to climb up, Jem," he said.

"Yes, Mas' Don."

"And we can't get down."

"No, Mas' Don. We shall have to live here for a bit, only I don't know
how we're going to eat and sleep."

"Jem."

"Yes, Mas' Don."

"I'm going to jump into that tree."

"No, Mas' Don, you mustn't risk it."

"And if it breaks--"

"Never mind about the tree breaking. What I don't like is, s'pose you
break."

"I shall go first, and you can try afterwards."

"No, no, Mas' Don; let me try first."

Don paid no heed