voice. Neither with his eyes nor his ears did he respond;
and he well enough might have been taken for a dead ass going
heavenward, but for the sharp twitchings of his tail. And when at last
he was safely within the upper chamber, he fairly fell down upon the
rocky floor of it in sheer exhaustion begot of fright. It was not until
we had passed up a bucket of water to him, whereof he drank the very
last drop, and had been soothed by Pablo's fondling of him and by
Pablo's gentle words, that his broken spirit revived. And so limp and
weak was he that it was a long while before we could in conscience urge
him to ascend the stair. When at last he set himself to this
undertaking, he was far from accomplishing it in the bounding and
deer-like manner that Pablo had promised for him; but he certainly did
at last get to the top--which was all that was required of him--and
there drank gratefully the bucketful of water that Pablo had carried up
that great height for his comforting when his toilsome climbing should
end. And Pablo went down into the valley once more that night in order
to bring back to his friend a hearty supper of rich grass.

[Illustration: EL SABIO'S PREDICAMENT]

By the time that all this hard work was accomplished the day was nearly
at an end; and even had there been light for us to see our way by we
were too tired to go on--for every bone and muscle in our bodies was
weary and sore. Therefore we made our camp for the night on the flat
expanse of rock where the stair ended; and we were thankful that enough
of the eagle remained to us for our supper--and, indeed, we made our
breakfast on him also, for he was a prodigiously large bird. Very
different were our feelings as we wrapped ourselves in our blankets and
settled ourselves to sleep on that open mountain-top--with the path
clear before us, and with the cheering hope in our hearts that among the
mountains we should find a plenty of wild creatures suitable for
food--from the dull despairing languor that had possessed us as we sank
to sleep the night before. And with our joy was also a reverent
thankfulness--that was more strongly stimulated by certain words which
Fray Antonio spoke ere we lay down to rest--that our deliverance was
accomplished from that death-stricken valley wherein we ourselves so
surely had expected that we must die.

XIV.

THE HANGING CHAIN.

By the winding way which we followed along the mountain-top (and that
this was the wa