Had the flag tackle been there now Dick could have made an easier problem of the ascent; yet, even with the rope, it would have been an undertaking from which most men would have shrunk.
"I'm going to start now," said Dick very quietly.
"Good luck, Dick, old fellow!" called Dave cheerily. "You'll get through."
Darrin still remained standing on top of the spire after Dick had started to climb.
The only way that Prescott could move upward was to wrap arms and legs around the pole.
How the wind swayed, jarred and vibrated it! Once, when ten feet of the ascent had been accomplished, Dick felt his heart fail him.
A momentary impulse, almost of cowardice, swept over him.
Then he steeled himself, and went on and up.
That staff must be more than a mile high, it now seemed to the boy, hanging there in momentary danger of his life.
Dave, standing below, looking up, knew far more torment.