"Sartin, ef he wants ter see 'em," replied the old man, leading the way to the chasm.
Jehiel had not the slightest intimation of what was before him, and his astonishment was unbounded when they arrived at the chasm.
"Jewhillakens!" he exclaimed. "S'pose a feller should walk off here sometime, would he ever touch bottom?"
He received no reply, for had there been any, he was too much surprised just then to have heard it. He saw the old trapper swing off on the end of the rope, and heard him when he stopped upon the opposite side, and waved his torch as a signal for the scout to catch the rope.
"Now," said Kelly, "you go over."
Jehiel showed signs of cowardice.
"How fur is it over there?" he asked.
"About sixty feet," was the reply.
"But durn it, Lew, I might fall and break my tarnal neck."
"Oh! there is no danger of that—all you have to do is to hang on to the rope; and you see there is a big knot in the end, so that your hands won't slip."