He must at once satisfy himself whether the project was impracticable or worthy of further investigation.
So the girl only enjoined him to be careful, and he vigorously renewed the climb.

At last, some twenty-five feet from the ground, an accidental parting in the branches enabled him to get a good look at the ledge.

One glance set his heart beating joyously.

It was at least fifteen feet in length; it shelved back until its depth was lost in the blackness of the shadows, and the floor must be either nearly level or sloping slightly inwards to the line of the fault.
The place was a perfect eagle's nest.

A chamois could not reach it from any direction; it became accessible to man only by means of a ladder or a balloon.
More excited by this discovery than he cared for Iris to know, he endeavored to appear unconcerned when he regained the ground.
"Well," she said, "tell me all about it." He described the nature of the cavity as well as he understood it at the moment, and emphasized his previous explanation of its virtues.
Here they might reasonably hope to make a successful stand against the Dyaks.
"Then you feel sure that those awful creatures will come back ?" she said slowly.
"Only too sure, unfortunately." "How remorseless poor humanity is when the veneer is stripped off! Why cannot they leave us in peace?
I suppose they now cherish a blood feud against us.