Archie Armstrong, hanging by his hands from the edge of the low cliff, broke a great fragment from the rock and thus reduced the stability of the whole; and hanging from the edge of the same low cliff, a few fathoms below, grasping the roots of the spruce, he broke a second fragment loose with his weight—a third and a fourth. And the structure collapsed. It fell in thick, spacious fragments on the quiet water of the pool, buoyant and dry, and covered the face of the water, held imprisoned by the rocks of the narrow exit.
When Billy Topsail came drifting down, Archie Armstrong, waiting on the ice, helped him out and ashore.
"Better build a fire, Archie," said Billy, presently.
"I'm doing that very thing, Billy."
"Thanks, Archie."
"Cold, b'y?"
"I'll take no harm from the wettin'."
"Harm! A hardy kid like you! I laugh!"
Billy grinned.