venture to descend any further; so holding on with one hand, he
with the other shook one by one all the slender roots around him,
and at last, finding one which he thought trustworthy, shifted
him self to it and continued his downward progress.

So far so well; but I could not avoid comparing my heavier frame
and disabled condition with his light figure and remarkable
activity; but there was no help for it, and in less than a
minute's time I was swinging directly over his head. As soon as
his upturned eyes caught a glimpse of me, he exclaimed in his
usual dry tone, for the danger did not seem to daunt him in the
least, 'Mate, do me the kindness not to fall until I get out of
your way;' and then swinging himself more on one side, he
continued his descent. In the mean time I cautiously transferred
myself from the limb down which I had been slipping to a couple
of others that were near it, deeming two strings to my bow better
than one, and taking care to test their strength before I trusted
my weight to them.

On arriving towards the end of the second stage in this vertical
journey, and shaking the long roots which were round me, to my
consternation they snapped off one after another like so many
pipe stems, and fell in fragments against the side of the gulf,
splashing at last into the waters beneath.

As one after another the treacherous roots yielded to my grasp,
and fell into the torrent, my heart sunk within me. The branches
on which I was suspended over the yawning chasm swang to and fro
in the air, and I expected them every moment to snap in twain.
Appalled at the dreadful fate that menaced me, I clutched