s to determine to which side we should turn for a
new route; to right, as to left, arose impenetrable masses of trees
and bushes. In truth even the scaling of cliffs would have been more
easy. Perhaps if we could get above this wooded slope we could
advance with surer foot. Now, we could only go ahead blindly, and
trust to the instincts of our two guides. James Bruck was especially
useful. I believe that that gallant lad would have equaled a monkey
in lightness and a wild goat in agility. Unfortunately, neither Elias
Smith nor I was able to climb where he could.

However, when it is a matter of real need with me, I trust I shall
never be backward, being resolute by nature and well-trained in bodily
exercise. Where James Bruck went, I was determined to go, also;
though it might cost me some uncomfortable falls. But it was not the
same with the first magistrate of Morganton, less young, less
vigorous, larger, stouter, and less persistent than we others.
Plainly he made every effort, not to retard our progress, but he
panted like a seal, and soon I insisted on his stopping to rest.

In short, it was evident that the ascent of the Great Eyrie would
require far more time than we had estimated. We had expected to reach
the foot of the rocky wall before eleven o'clock, but we now saw that
mid-day would still find us several hundred feet below it.

Toward ten o'clock, after repeated attempts to discover some more
practicable route, after numberless turnings and returnings, one of
the guides gave the signal to halt. We found ourselves at last on the
upper border of the heavy wood. The trees, more thinly spaced,
permitted us a glimpse upward to the base of the rocky wall which
constituted the true Great Eyrie.

"Whew!" exclaimed Mr. Smith, leaning against a mighty pine tree, "a
little respite, a little repose, and even a little repast would not
go badly."

"We will rest an hour," said I.

"Yes; after working our lungs and our legs, we will make our stomachs
work."

We were all agreed on this point. A rest would certainty freshen us.
Our only cause for inquietude was now the appearance of the
precipitous slope above us. We looked up toward one of those bare
strips called in that region, slides. Amid this loose earth, these
yielding stones, and these abrupt rocks there was no roadway.

Harry Horn said to his comrade, "It will not be easy."

"Perhaps impossible," responded Bruck.

Their comments caused me secret uneasin