"Plenty strong," replied Thomas Jefferson. "I shall not take hold. You'll have it all."
"How then will you get up there?" demanded George, aghast at the suggestion.
"I shall climb. It's not new work for me. I shall be close behind you so that if you fall I may help."
"If I fall or the lariat breaks," declared George, "there will be no stopping me. Both of us will go straight to the bottom of the gulch."
"Look up all the time," suggested the Indian. "Don't once look behind you. You need not fear for me for I have no fear for myself. Besides Kitoni is very strong. He has taken a purchase around a tree and the rope cannot slip. You are perfectly safe."
"Shall I try to climb by using the rope or shall I dig in my fingers and toes and try that way?"
"Don't pull on the rope too much," answered the Navajo. "There will be places where you may have to do that. It will be safe to do so for Kitoni will take in all slack, but it will be better if you try to climb."
"Here goes then," said George in a low voice as he turned and began the perilous ascent.