Here he could make a determined and prolonged stand, and in the end help _must_ come.

So he dismissed the navigation project, and devoted himself wholly to the perfecting of the natural fortress in the rock.
That night they finished the rope-ladder.

Indeed, Jenks was determined not to retire to rest until it was placed _in situ_; he did not care to try a second time to carry Iris to that elevated perch, and it may be remarked that thenceforth the girl, before going to sleep, simply changed one ragged dress for another.
One of the first things he contemplated was the destruction, if possible, of the point on the opposite cliff which commanded the ledge.
This, however, was utterly impracticable with the appliances at his command.

The top of the rock sloped slightly towards the west, and nothing short of dynamite or regular quarrying operations would render it untenable by hostile marksmen.
During the day his Lee-Metfords, at ninety yards' range, might be trusted to keep the place clear of intruders.

But at night--that was the difficulty.