no possibility of foothold.

He stood, gathering his strength for a last stupendous effort. It was a
supreme moment. It meant abandoning the support on which he stood and
depending entirely upon the strength of his arms to attain to safety. The
risk was desperate. He stood bracing himself to take it.

Finally, with an upward fling of the head, as of one who diced with the
gods, he gripped that perilous edge and dared the final throw. Slowly,
with stupendous effort, he hoisted himself up. It was the work of an
expert athlete; none other would have attempted it.

Up he went and up, steadily, strongly; his head came level with his
hands; he peered over the edge of the cliff. The strain was terrific. The
careless smile was gone from his lips. In that instant he no longer
ignored what lay behind him; he knew the suspense of the gambler who
pauses after he has thrown before he lifts the dice-box to read his fate.

Up, and still up! The grass was beginning to yield in his clutching
fingers; he dug them into the earth below. Now his shoulders were above
the edge; his chest also, heaving with strenuous effort. To lower himself
again was impossible. His feet dangled over space. And the surging of the
water below him was as the roaring of an angry monster cheated of its
prey.

He set his teeth. He was nearing the end of his strength. Had he, after
all, attempted the impossible, flung the dice too recklessly, dared his
fate too far? If so, he would pay the penalty swiftly, swiftly, down
among the cruel rocks where many another had perished before him.