“Watch your step, don’t move,” Westy called down. “If you’ve got a firm hold hang on; don’t try to look over. Give us a chance to think.”
Warde called, “Wait till I see how it is below and maybe you won’t have to bother to think. Maybe I can go down all right.”
“That fellow’s game,” Westy said.
“Safety first,” I called. “You’re in a pretty bad place, Warde. You can see better how it is up here. You hang on with both hands and feet and give us a chance to think. Don’t get excited. We don’t care anything about the hike now.”
“All right, go on home,” he called. “I’m going to see whether we can climb down here or not.”
“He’ll make a scout,” Dorry said.
“If he lives to take the oath,” Westy said.
All of a sudden Warde moved. I don’t know whether he slid or moved on purpose. Anyway there was a little clump of bush in his hand. He threw it away and clutched the ground in another place. That brought his head to the edge of the shelf. Jiminies, my heart was just pounding in my throat. The palms of my hands were all wet, even. None of us spoke. One more move and he’d be over the edge. I wanted to call and ask him how it was below, but I sort of felt that even my voice might start him moving again. He was way out of reach of us now, right on the very edge, and we knew that his life depended on how the land was below him. Because one thing sure, he couldn’t come back.