There-- that's all; and now I'm coming up." "Hah!" ejaculated Mike, in a tone full of thankfulness; and as Vince shuffled himself a little way--not much, for there was not room--the rope tightened about his chest, giving him so strong a support that he leaned back, pressed his hands down on either side of him to steady himself, and drew up one leg till he could plant his heel on the stone where he had been seated.

A steady draw up of the other leg, and it was beside its fellow; then, getting well hold of the nearest projections on either side, he shouted up to his companion to haul hard--shouted, though in the immensity of the place his words, like those which had preceded them, sounded weak and more like whispers.
"Right!" said Mike; and then he uttered a wild cry, for as Vince thrust with feet and hands together, straightening himself out, the rope tightened at the same moment, and then the lad hung motionless against the slope.
The rain and frost had been hard at work upon the edge of that precipice, as its sharply gnawed-off edge showed and the huge stone which the venturous lad had stridden was only waiting for the sharp thrust which it had received, for with a dull crack it was separated from the side, with an enormous mass beneath it, and went rushing down, leaving a jagged curve, as if the piece had been bitten out, just below the lad's feet.
Vince did not stir even to feel for a place to plant his hands, but remained motionless for some moments.

Then there was a dull splash echoed from the barrier rock which shut-in the cove, and the rushing sound of wings, as the startled birds rose in clouds from their resting-places all around.
At last the full sense of his perilous position came to the boy, and with it his coolness; and he grasped the rock as well as he could, and called up to his companion.
"Grip hard, Ladle!" he cried.

"I'm going to try and turn face to you." There was no reply; but a thrill seemed to come down the fibres of the rope, and the strain upon the boy's chest to increase.
It was no easy task, for it was hard to find a resting-place on either side of the gap for his feet; but, full of trust in Mike's hold of the rope, and strengthened by the knowledge that it was secured to the granite block as well, Vince gave himself a quick writhe, and turned upon his face.

Then, after a scrambling slip or two, his toes found a ledge, as his hands already had, and he climbed steadily up.
That task was not difficult, for the foothold was easy to select, the rope tightening still, and giving him steady help, while the distance, long as it had taken him to descend, was only short.
In another minute he was over the ridge, looking down on Mike, who, instead of hauling in the rope as he came up, had let himself glide down like a counterpoise, and as soon as he saw his companion in safety, he drew himself in a crouching position and stared up with his lips apart.
"It's all right," said Vince huskily.