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"Now all I expect of you is to hold hard on this rope until I get across on to the spar," I whispered "When I give three distinct jerks on the cord, then let loose of your end; but drop it slowly, mind you, père, so I can draw it in without noise You had better creep to the edge of the roof with it before you release your hold Do you understand?"

He nodded silently, his eyes gazing unwaveringly into mine I held forth my hand to hiave me his own in response it felt as cold as ice, yet I

"As soon as I coil in the rope you had better creep down and go ho slowly, for soely hard to part with this last tie between the present and the uncertain future "You can be no further use to ht prove exceedingly aard for one of your cloth to be trapped here after this night's work is discovered by the Dons So now good-bye; you are a lad to have been co as I slowly crept down to the edge, testing again the feel of the rope before venturing to swing off upon it I was not unaccustoh life on the frontier; e experiences, yet I hold it no pleasant sensation to swing out on a thirty-foot line at that height, amid utter darkness, especially when you feel uncertain as to its secure fastening at the farther end Moreover, the priest's robe haht, the strands of the se inch by inch, gritting ht eht my arside the spar Yet, thanks be to God, the rope held nobly, though it required every pound of re body up, that I could rest across the wood before I felt after the standing rope beneath I clung there weak as a child, tre in drops upon my face

I have been in far happier situations than that--lying bent nearly double across the yard of an eneht, but at therope, I felt like hu the smooth spar until I discovered a firht, and clung for support to the cloth of the sail At last I gave our signal, and, as the line slackened toit as it ca a in his retreat, I undid the noose yet wound about the s h the darkness, worked , inward bound toward the aincoil inch by inch, until I felt convinced from its limpness it must extend to the deck