This did not look very brave on my part, but I felt that I wanted to be under him, while he was climbing, so that I could break his fall if he should slip down.

It would not be exactly a perpendicular fall, for the wall slanted a little, but it would be bad enough.

However, I had climbed up worse places than that, and Rectus was very nimble; so I felt there was no great danger.
Up he went, hand over hand, and putting his toes into nicks every now and then, thereby helping himself very much.

He took it slowly and easily, and I felt sure he would be all right.

As I looked at him, climbing up there in the darkness, while I was standing below, holding the rope so that it should not swing, I could not help thinking that I was a pretty curious kind of a tutor for a boy.