"'It's a pretty stiff climb, children! It's a pretty stiff climb! But come on, let's go up!'
"Had 'Aunt Twaddles' asked the two children to rise like two eagles and soar high over the tops of the mountains, it would not have seemed to them more of a task than to walk up the bald face of that cliff; and for a long time they stood gazing upon 'Aunt Twaddles' as if they thought she had gone completely out of her head.
"Little Arthur suddenly exclaimed:
"'Why, Aunt Twaddles, we could never go up there.'
"As the children glanced at her face, they noticed a strange look in her eyes that startled them. Was it the look of an evil one seeking to lure two innocent children to certain death amid the cruel rocks of the mountain? Or was it the look of the witch that Old Nimrod, the hunter, had so often told them about as they sat at his feet by the fire in the old inn? That look that charmed wildcats and panthers and snakes into doing her will?
"Without further delay she shouted with a frown.
"'Oh yes, you can, children. You shall go up with me. How often have I gone up this path with double your weight as a load!'
"And gathering the thick twill of her skirt into a fold, she placed it tightly within the clasp of Arthur's hands, at the same time saying:
"'Come, Maudie, take hold by the side of your brother and hold fast.'
"And before the two frightened children could realize what they had done, they were high up on the side of the cliff and did not dare to let go.