It had been their design at first to insert the steps in the rope—between the strands2 of which it was composed; but, on reflection, a better plan suggested itself. By opening the strands to let in the pieces of wood, the rope might be weakened, so much as to endanger its breaking; and this alone, above all things, was to be avoided. It was deemed more prudent4 to leave the cord untouched, and place the sticks crosswise outside of it. Whipped round with strong pieces of other cord, they could easily be made to keep their places—more especially as, with the hands of the climber grasping the rope above, no one stick would have to carry the full weight of his body; and, even should one of them slip a little out of place, there would be no great danger of an accident arising out of the circumstance.
It occupied them a second day in twining the pieces of string, required for tying the sticks in their places; and, upon the morning of the third, they returned to the cliff, with the intention of transforming the cord, that the kite had carried up, into a rope-ladder.
The mode by which they intended to effect this purpose will be easily understood—after what has been already said respecting it. The little sticks were to be laid transversely against the rope, and then so tightly tied in their places, as to prevent them from slipping down. The first was to be attached about the height of a man’s waist from the ground; and the second on a level with his chin. Then with the feet resting upon the first, and the left hand grasping the rope above, it would be possible to fix another at the height of the chin, as it would then be. By climbing up to the second, a fourth could be placed at a little distance above; and thus in succession, till the top of the cliff should be attained5.
It was not supposed, that any one could continue the process of attaching the steps, till all were set in their places; nor did they contemplate6 being able to complete the work in a little time. On the contrary, they expected it to occupy them for days; and they knew, moreover, that long intervals8 of rest would be required by any one who should have to execute it. Standing9 upon such unstable10 footing, for any considerable length of time, would be both irksome and fatiguing11; and they were about to enter upon the task with a full knowledge of its difficulties.
On reaching the cord they at once set to work upon it. Rather should it be said, that one of them did so: for only one could work at a time in this, the last labour, as they supposed, they would have to perform in that lone3 valley.
In attaching the steps to the rope, Ossaroo was allowed to act as sole operator: since neither of the others understood the handling of cordage so well as he. They could but act as spectators and the only purpose which their presence could serve, was to cheer the shikaree by their company and conversation.
By good fortune it was not necessary for Ossaroo to fix any steps to the first thirty feet of the kite cord. One of the long ladders which they had made enabled him to ascend12 that far without using the sticks; and, indeed, all of the ladders might have served in this way, had the kite carried its cord up the cliff within reach of them. Unfortunately, this did not happen to be the case; and only the first ladder could be made available.
Placing it nearly parallel with the rope, Ossaroo mounted up; and, when near its top, commenced attaching the steps. He had carried up along with him about a dozen of the little sticks, with cords to correspond—in a sort of pouch13, which he had formed with the skirts of his cotton tunic14.
Karl and Caspar below, seated upon stones, and Fritz squatted15 on the ground, watched the movements of the shikaree with deep and speechless interest.
It was not a very long time, before he had adjusted the first two pegs in their proper places; and, then letting himself off the ladder, and placing both his feet upon the first cross-piece, in a way that they balanced one another and kept the stick in a horizontal position—he proceeded to attach the third about the height of his chin.
To do this required, a good deal of adroitness16; but Ossaroo was gifted with this quality to a high degree; and, so far as his footing was concerned, the Hindoo was as much at home upon a rope, as would have been one of those monkeys sacred to the believers in his Brahministic creed17.
Any other feet would soon have become tired—resting upon such a slender support; but Ossaroo had been accustomed to climbing the tall lofty palms, until his toes had acquired a certain degree of prehensile18 power; and the smallest branch or protuberance on the trunk of a tree, or even a knot on a rope, was footing enough to enable him to hold on for many minutes at a time. He had no difficulty, therefore, in balancing himself upon the sticks, which he had already attached; nor ascending19 from one to the other, as each was got into its place. In this way he proceeded, until the stock which he had taken up with him was exhausted20, and his apron21 hung empty. Then, letting himself down from step to step, and cautiously returning to the wooden ladder, he descended22 to the bottom of the cliff.
Karl or Caspar might have rendered his coming down unnecessary, as either could have carried so light a “hod” up the ladder; but there was good reason why Ossaroo should make the descent—that was, to rest and refresh himself.
He did not remain very long below—just long enough to let the blood circulate along the soles of his naked feet—and then, with his apron distended—being once more full of sticks—he reclimbed the ladder, swung himself out upon the cord, and clambered up the steps he had already fixed23 in their places.
His second stock of sticks becoming exhausted as the first, he again revisited the earth; again allowed himself an interval7 of rest; and then ascended24 as before.
With Ossaroo proceeding25 in this fashion, the remainder of the day was spent—a long interval being allowed for dinner; which Karl and Caspar, having nothing else to do, had cooked with extra care. They did not go home to the hut to perform their culinary operations. There would have been no advantage in doing so: since the kitchen accommodation there was not a whit26 better than where they were at work; and the larder27 contained nothing more than what they had brought along with them—some dried ibex-meat. But Karl had not been idle for a portion of the time; and had collected various roots and fruits that, when roasted, not only helped out the meal, but rendered it sufficiently28 luxurious29 for stomachs like theirs, no longer fastidious.
After dinner, Ossaroo indulged in a long smoke of his favourite “bang;” and, stimulated30 by this, returned to his task with renewed energy.
So successful was he in its accomplishment31, that, before sunset he had full fifty steps in place; which, along with the wooden ladder, enabled him to climb nearly a third of the way up the cliff.
Of course darkness put an end to his operations for that day; and with the intention of continuing them on the morrow, both the operator and spectators wended their way back to the hut—Karl and Caspar showing as much respect to Ossaroo, as if he had been the master architect, and they only his assistants or labourers. Even Fritz appeared to be impressed with the belief that the shikaree was the most important personage in the party: for every time that the latter descended from the cliff the dog had paid his “devoirs” to him, frisking around, leaping up, and looking steadfastly32 in his face, as if congratulating him on being their deliverer!
On the road home Fritz continued these demonstrations—springing against the legs of the shikaree so as occasionally to impede33 his progress, evidently convinced—either from his own observation or from the respect which he saw the others were paying him—that the Hindoo was the hero of the day!
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1
pegs
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| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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2
strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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3
lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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4
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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10
unstable
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| adj.不稳定的，易变的 | |
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fatiguing
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| a.使人劳累的 | |
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12
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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13
pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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14
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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adroitness
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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prehensile
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| adj.（足等）适于抓握的 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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21
apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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22
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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24
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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larder
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| n.食物贮藏室，食品橱 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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30
stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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31
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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32
steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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33
impede
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止 | |
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