Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-11-04

] n
footing to where my rope dangled, per-
I haps 800 yards distant
/ liz seemed TO hang whiting easy reach
T of the cliffs face, and Instantly l re-
solved and as instantly proceeded 10
/ work toward it. No time remained IOr
/ hesitation Night was coming on. L
/ reasoned that my comrades thought me
+ killed. They had probably gone TO re-
+ view The new condition OF the precl-
D nice from q lower station, and on their
return would haul up and carry on the
I rope [ made q move toward II. lily
+ 10 think OF that journey.
Shifting sideWiSe very carefully, i
/ had not made hve yards before ! knew
that I could not continue to look over
| the abyss without glancing down, and
/ that could not glance down without
losing my senses. Imagine trying TO
move sidewise- incapable of closing
YOUR eyes. forced 10 look down, from
end TO end 500 feet, Imagine you've
got 90 go on or jump of. Would you
not in an eCstaCy OF nervous agitation,
fall 10 your knees, set down first at full
/ length clutch by your hands and with
shut ewes feel your way? 1 longed TO
lie down and hold. of course, that was
impossible.
me wall at my back made it worse.
The cliff seemed 10 press outward
I against ne. 1t did, in fact, incline very
slightly forward. lie seemed to be
,hrusung me on Oh the horror Of
that seusauoni Your toes on the edge
OF a precipice and the implcable, calm
mountain apparently weighing You
slowly forward
/ knew with my back TO the wall
could never reach the rope. l could
not face toward it and step forward,
50 marrow was the ledge. Motion was
perhaps barely possible that way. but
the breath of my shoulders would have
forced me 10 lean somewhat more out
ward and this I dared not and could
not do Also TO see d solid surface be-
fore me became an irresistible desire.
L resolved 90 Try to turn round before
resuming tia, desperate journey. To
do this 1 had To nerve myself for one
steady look al my footing.
ln the depth below the myriad sea-
fowl then rested on the black water
which, though swelling more with the
rising wind. had yet an unbroken sur
face at some little distance from the
precipice, while further out it had be-
gun To jump TO whitecaps, and in be-
meath me- where I could not see, it
dashed and churned with a faint, per-
yadiug roar that l could barely distin-
guish Before the descending sun q
heavy bank of cloud has arisen. The
oceans surface bore that appearance of
. intense angry gloom that often heralds
+ q storm save the deep murmur going
out from below my perch, all to my
bearing was deadly still.
Cautiously / swung my right foot be-
fore the other and carefully edged
around. For an instant, as my should
er rubbed against the rock, l felt that l
must fall / did stagger, i'm fact, but
the next moment stood firm. face to the
lae-,ing cliff. my heels on the very
edge. and the new sensation Hf the
alyss behind me no less horrible than
that from which ] had with such diff
Guilty escaped. I stood Quaking. a de-
Hrious horror thrilled every nerve. The
skin about my ears and neck, suddenly
cold sbrank cODyulsively
Wild with fear / thrVs- i0TWar NY
head against the rock and rested in
AGONY. A Whir and wind of sudden
wings made me conscious of outward
things again. Then a mad eagerness
90 climb swept away other feelings.
and my hands attempted i'm vain 10
clutch the rock. Not daring TO case
my head backward. I drew it tortoise
like between my raised shoulders and
chin against the prCcipice and gazed
upward with straining of vision from
under my eyebrows.
Far above the dead wall stretched.
4 S-deWise giances gave me glmpses OF
the projecting summit coping. Ihere
WAS no fear i'm that direction. But the
distraction of scanning the cliff side
had given my strained nerves some re-
lief. TO nv memory agai returned the
prowise of the Almighty and the con-
/ seriousness of his regard. Once more
my muscles became firm strung.
cautious step sidewise made me
know how much 7 had gained in ease
and security of motion by the change
of front made progress that seemed
almost rapid for some rods. and even
had exuItatiOu i'm my quick approach
to the rope Hence came freedom to
think how I should act on reaching it
. and speculation as TO how my comrades
would haul me up.
TheD the idea flashed through me
that they might even yet draw it away
too soon: that while almost in my
clutch II might rise from my hands
INSTANTLY an the terrors OF my posi-
+ zion returned with ten fold force; an
outward thrust of the precipice seemed
/ TO grow distinct, my trembling hands
/ told me that ii moved bodily toward me
+ the descent behind me took an Un-
/ sDeakable remOteness. and from the ut
most depths of that sheer air seemed
+ 10 ascend steadily a deadly and a
chilling wind. But I think 1 did not
sion for an instant. Instead. a delir-
INN to move faster possessed me, and
with quick sidelOng steps my follow
/ ing foot striking hard against the other
4 sometimes ON the point of stumbling
/ stretched out like the crucited, press
/ eI i'm mortal terror along.
Every possible accident and delay
was presented to my excited mind.
What If the ledge should narrow sud
denly TO nothing? Now l believed
that my heels were unsupported in air,
and 7 moved along on tip-tOe. Now l
was convinced that the narrow path
way stoned outward. that this slope had
become so distinct, so increasingly dis
tinct that 1 might at any moment slip
OIL into the void. But dominating
every consideration of possible disaster
was still that of the need for speed,
and distinct among all other terrors
/ was that sensation of the dead wall
I ever silently and ineXOrably pressing