第96章

"Since last I was here, O Holly," she called, "the support of the moving stone hath lessened somewhat, so that I am not sure if it will bear our weight and fall or not.Therefore will I cross first, because no harm will come unto me," and, without further ado, she trod lightly but firmly across the frail bridge, and in another second was standing safe upon the heaving stone.

"It is safe," she called."See, hold thou the plank! Iwill stand on the farther side of the stone so that it may not overbalance with your greater weights.Now come, O Holly, for presently the light will fail us."I struggled to my knees, and if ever I felt sick in my life I felt sick then, and I am not ashamed to say that I hesitated and hung back.

"Surely thou art not afraid," called this strange creature in a lull of the gale, from where she stood, poised like a bird on the highest point of the rocking stone."Make then way for Kallikrates."This settled me; it is better to fall down a precipice and die than to be laughed at by such a woman; so Iclinched my teeth, and in another instant I was on that horrible, narrow, bending plank, with bottomless space beneath and around me.I have always hated a great height, but never before did I realize the full horrors of which such a position is capable.Oh, the sickening sensation of that yielding board resting on the two moving supports.I grew dizzy, and thought that I must fall; my spine crept; it seemed to me that I was falling, and my delight at finding myself sprawling upon that stone, which rose and fell beneath me like a boat in a swell, cannot be expressed in words.All I know is that briefly, but earnestly enough, I thanked Providence for preserving me so far.

Then came Leo's turn, and, though he looked rather queer, he came across like a rope-dancer.Ayesha stretched out her hand to clasp his own, and I heard her say, "Bravely done, my lovebravely done! The old Greek spirit lives in thee yet!"And now only poor Job remained on the farther side of the gulf.He crept up to the plank, and yelled out, "Ican't do it, sir.I shall fall into that beastly place.""You must," I remember saying with inappropriate facetiousness"you must, Job, it's as easy as catching flies." I suppose that I said it to satisfy my conscience, because although the expression conveys a wonderful idea of facility, as a matter of fact Iknow no more difficult operation in the whole world than catching fliesthat is, in warm weather, unless, indeed, it is catching mosquitoes.

"I can't, sirI can't, indeed.

"Let the man come, or let him stop and perish there.

See, the light is dying! In a moment it will be gone!"said Ayesha.

I looked._i_ She _i_ was right.The sun was passing below the level of the hole or cleft in the precipice through which the ray reached us.

"If you stop there, Job, you will die alone," Icalled; "the light is going."

"Come, be a man, Job," roared Leo; "it's quite easy."Thus adjured, the miserable Job, with a most awful yell, precipitated himself face downwards on the plankhe did not dare, small blame to him, to try to walk it, and commenced to draw himself across in little jerks, his poor legs hanging down on either side into the nothingness beneath.

His violent jerks at the frail board made the great stone, which was only balanced on a few inches of rock, oscillate in a most sickening manner, and, to make matters worse, when he was half-way across the flying ray of lurid light suddenly went out, just as though a lamp had been extinguished in a curtained room, leaving the whole howling wilderness of air black with darkness.

"Come on, Job, for God's sake!" I shouted, in an agony of fear, while the stone, gathering motion with every swing, rocked so violently that it was difficult to hang on to it.It was a truly awful position.

"Lord have mercy on me!" cried poor Job from the darkness."Oh, the plank's slipping!" and I heard a violent struggle, and thought that he was gone.

But at that moment his outstretched hand, clasping in agony at the air, met my own, and I hauledah, how Idid haul, putting out all the strength that it has pleased Providence to give me in such abundanceand, to my joy, in another minute Job was gasping on the rock beside me.But the plank! I felt it slip, and heard it knock against a projecting knob of rock, and it was gone.

"Great heavens!" I exclaimed."How are we going to get back?""I don't.know," answered Leo, out of the gloom.

"'Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof'.I am thankful enough to be here."But Ayesha merely called to me to take her hand and creep after her.