Behind it the wall of rock sloped darkly inwards, suggesting a recess extending by haphazard computation at least a couple of yards.
It occurred to him that perhaps the fault in the interior of the tunnel had its outcrop here, and the deodorizing influences of rain and sun had extended the weak point thus exposed in the bold panoply of stone.
He surveyed the ledge from different points of view.

It was quite inaccessible, and most difficult to estimate accurately from the ground level.

The sailor was a man of action.

He chose the nearest tall tree and began to climb.

He was not eight feet from the ground before several birds flew out from its leafy recesses, filling the air with shrill clucking.
"The devil take them!" he growled, for he feared that the commotion would awaken Iris.