ndefined hollows over which the precipices leaned.

To return down Appenfell was (the experienced shepherd informed them)
quite hopeless. In such a mist as that, which might last for an
indefinite time, even _he_ would be totally unable to find his way. But
now that they were warm and satisfied with food, and confident of
safety, they even enjoyed the feeling of adventure when Giles tied them
together for their return across the Devil's Way. First he tied the
rope round his own waist, then round Power's and Kenrick's, and finally,
as there was not enough left to go round Walter's waist, he tied the end
round his right arm. Thus fastened, all danger was tenfold diminished,
if not wholly removed, and the two unaccustomed boys felt a happy
reliance on the nerve and experience of Giles and Walter, who were in
front and rear. It was a scene which they never forgot, as the four
went step by step through the moonlight along the horrible ledge, safe
only in each other's help, and awe-struck at their position, not daring
to glance aside or to watch the colossal grandeur of their own shadows
as they were flung here and there against some protruding rock. Power
was next to Walter, and when they reached the spot beneath which the
whiteness glinted and the rags fluttered in the wind, Walter, in spite
of himself, could not help glancing down, and whispering "Look!" in a
voice of awe. Power unhappily did look, and as all the boys at Saint
Winifred's were familiar with the story of the shepherd's fate, and had
even known the man himself, Power at once was seized with the same
nervous horror which had agitated Walter--grew dizzy, stumbled, and
slipped down, jerking Kenrick to his knees by the sudden strain of the
rope. Happily the rope checked Power's fall, and Kenrick's scream of
horror startled Giles, who, without losing his presence of mind,
instantly seized Kenrick with an arm that seemed as strong and
inflexible as if it had been hammered out of iron, while at the same
moment Walter, conscious of his rashness, clutched hold of Power's hand
and raised him up. No word was spoken, but after this the boys kept
close to their guides, who were ready to grasp them tight at the first
indication of an uneven footstep, and who almost lifted them bodily over
every more difficult or slippery part. The time seemed very long to
them, but at last they had all reached Bardlyn hill in safety, and
placed the last step they ever meant to pla