Part 53 (1/2)

”He'll be swept away!” cried Gunson, excitedly; and, placing one foot at the extreme verge of the firm ground, he reached out towards the Chinaman.

”Give me your hand, my lad,” he cried, hoa.r.s.ely; and as I lay there, I stretched out my hand to have it seized, while I watched Quong coming nearer, splas.h.i.+ng up the water now and sending the spray flying as he strained forward to get hold of Gunson.

For a few moments we both thought he was gone, for he had glided down till the water was over his ankles, and still, as he reached out, he was a few inches from Gunson's grasp, while for him to have moved would have been fatal; but he made one more effort, hooking his fingers over Gunson's, and then there was another jerk, the bundle came over on to me, and as our friend made a violent muscular effort to throw himself back, the little Chinaman was dragged right over on to firm ground.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.

HOW WE FOUND OUT A PUZZLE.

”Ah!” said Quong, getting up and shaking his legs; ”got velly wet.”

”You stupid fellow! you nearly lost your life,” said Gunson, angrily.

”Lose life?” said Quong, looking puzzled; ”who lose life? Don't know.”

”There, go on up and take the pack. Can you climb up, my lad?”

I replied that I could, and followed Gunson, who showed me the way he had descended by the help of the rocks, and projecting roots of the dwarf firs which began to grow freely as soon as the slaty shale ceased.

Esau was waiting at the top, ready to lend me a hand, smiling triumphantly as soon as we were alone.

”You should have tried to go up all of a slope as I did,” he said, ”not down of a slope as you did.”

”I tried my best, Esau,” I said, sadly.

”Of course you would. Well, I hope there isn't going to be much more like that for us to do. Once is enough.”

By this time Quong was back at his fire, and we soon after partook of our mid-day meal, with copious draughts of tea for was.h.i.+ng it down, and after an hour's good nap started off again to find no further difficulties that afternoon, for our journey was through pine forest once more, where the grey moss hung like strands from the older branches, and in the more open places the dark, bronze-leaved barberry grew plentifully, with its purple-bloomed fruit which hung in cl.u.s.ters, and had won for themselves the name of ”Oregon Grapes.”

They did not prove to be grapes, though, that we cared to eat, for Esau's testing of their flavour was quite enough for both. The report he gave me was ”Horrid”; so I contented myself with the little bilberries and cranberries we came upon from time to time.

It was on the second day after our struggle across the slope, that we came to a complete change in the scenery. The valley had been contracting and opening out again and again; but now we seemed to come at once upon a portion of the river where the sides rose up almost perpendicularly, forming a wild, jagged, picturesque, but terrible gorge, down which the river came thundering, reduced to narrow limits, and roaring through at a terrible speed. The noise, multiplied as it was by echoes, was deafening, and as we stood gazing at the vast forbidding chasm, our journey in this direction seemed to have come suddenly to an end.

I looked up at Gunson, and found he was looking at me, while Esau had got his hat off scratching his head, and Quong had placed his bundle on the ground, seated himself, and was calmly resting as if there were no difficulties before him--nothing troublous in the least.

”Well,” said Gunson, looking at Esau, ”what do you think of the canon?”

”Don't see that it'll bear thinking about,” replied Esau. ”Going back now, ain't we?”

”Going back? I thought you were making for Fort Elk.”

”Yes, but that ain't the way,” said Esau. ”n.o.body couldn't go along a place like that.”

”We shall have to climb up the side, and go round somehow, shall we not?” I said to Gunson.

”That seems to be the most sensible way, my lad,” he replied; ”but how are we to get up the side? We might perhaps manage if we were across the river, but this wall of rock is so nearly perpendicular that it would puzzle an engineer. We could not scale that without ladders, ropes, and spikes.”

Both Esau and I stared up at the precipice which towered above our heads, and my companion took off his cap and rubbed his curly hair again.

”We couldn't get up there?” he said, looking at me. ”I'll try if you do.”