close above him. In the twinkling of an eye

he sprang up and grasped a ledge of about an inch

broad, ten or twelve feet up, to which he clung while

he glanced upward. Another projection was within

reach; he gained it, and in a few seconds he stood upon

a ledge about twenty feet up the cliff, where he had just

room to plant his feet firmly.

Without waiting to look behind, he seized his powder-horn

and loaded one barrel of his rifle; and well was it

for him that his early training had fitted him to do this