CHAPTER XV
A WAY OUT
THREE shivering, miserable mortals were we, as we stood there in our wet clothes contemplating the impassable rock which barred the way. Two badly scared mortals were Percy and I, as we turned instinctively to our leader for comfort.
“What’s to be done now, Jack?” asked the former, tucking his hands beneath his arms to warm them. “There’s no getting over this thing.”
Then did our captain come out strong. If ever I get into such a predicament again, give me a fellow like Jack for a leader. He knew better than we did the danger of the position in which his bad management—as he considered—had placed us; he was quite as much alarmed as we were at the plight in which we found ourselves; but, seeing that if he should give way to his fears his two followers would instantly be plunged into the depths of despair, he assumed a cheerfulness he was far from feeling, and with an air of assurance which was most encouraging he answered Percy’s question as promptly and decisively as though, far from being taken by surprise, he had been thinking over the matter for a week beforehand. A very fine fellow was our captain; though he would be the first to laugh at me for saying so.
“This rock must be about thirty feet high,” said he, contemplating the obstruction in a calm, critical manner, as though it were some natural curiosity, “and, as you see, it fits down so closely there is no crawling under it. All we have to do, therefore, is to crawl over it.”
“That’s a good deal, though,” said Percy, brightening up a little, however, under the influence of Jack’s example. “How do you propose to do it? The rock leans over this way so much that we can’t possibly climb up it.”
“We’ll bring up a thirty-foot pole,” replied Jack, “lean it against the rock, and climb up that. Simple enough, eh? So, let us get back to camp at once. You two shall transfer our baggage to the cabin, because I think it quite probable that we shall have to stay here until the storm is over, and a roof will be a good thing in this snow, and while you are doing that I will go and cut the pole, which we will bring up at once, so that, even if we don’t get out to-day, we may have it ready when we want it.”
“But, Jack,” said Percy, “suppose we should not be able to bring the pole up here. What then? Shall we—shall we—?”
“Shall we have to stay here all winter?” I blurted out, unable any longer to keep down the momentous question we all of us had in our minds.