"Don't go near the edge," yelled Mr. Waterman. "It's dangerous."
"All right," yelled Bob. "We're coming right down, so don't worry."
They found the two men waiting for them when they reached their canoe at the bottom of the cliff. Explanations were in order.
"We saw it all," said Mr. Waterman, "for when that rock started down that cliff it made such a racket that we rushed down to the shore. We felt like yelling at you to get back, but just as the thought occurred to us, we saw the rock under your feet giving way. Then Bob knocked Bill back and caught Pud's coat. We thought it was all over with the two of you, but Bill recovered his balance just in time to grab Bob and, I tell you, we sweat some while you were tugging to get Pud back, for it was a wonder that the rock under you did not give way and let you all down."
"You're a plucky lot of boys," said Mr. Anderson. "You will have to remember not to go too near to the edge of these cliffs up here, for the frost has made the face of some of them very brittle."
"We certainly won't forget it," said Bill.
"We've had enough excitement for one day," said Bob. "Let's go back to camp and take it easy for the rest of the afternoon."
"I'll take it back. I'll take it back," said Pud, as he held up his hands in mock terror.
"What's that you'll take back?" asked Bob.
"That I was bound to put on flesh up here. To get thrown out of a canoe in the morning and to come within an ace of making a three hundred foot dive in the afternoon is just about enough excitement to make any one lose weight. I bet I lost five pounds in that minute and a half when Bob had me by the coat, and I was wondering whether he could hold on to my elephantine form; whether the rock would not give way, and whether I could get back to safety. I sweat like a bull."