CHAPTER XV
THE VALLEY OF THE SACRIFICE
For the first half-hour of their climb down into the valley of the scratch, the three friends were too preoccupied with their own safety to talk more than an occasional sentence. They came upon many places that at first glance appeared impassable, or at least sufficiently hazardous to cause them to hesitate, but in each instance the changing contour of the precipice offered some other means of descent.
After thirty minutes of arduous effort, the Big Business Man sat down suddenly upon a rock and began to unlace his shoes.
"I've got to rest a while," he groaned. "My feet are in terrible shape."
His two companions were glad of the opportunity to sit with him for a moment.
"Gosh, I'm all in, too!" said the Very Young Man with a sigh.
They were sitting upon a ledge about twenty feet wide, with the wall down which they had come at their back.
"I'll swear that's as far down there as it ever was," said the Big Business Man, with a wave of his hand towards the valley below them.
"Further," remarked the Very Young Man. "I've known that right along."