The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1910-01-30
==-By
ALBERT PAYSON TERHUNE

wall stone gutter or bit Of or
noment3tion evidently prJfrCdec from
the bottom of the aperture
The overhanC OF The upper coping
against which 7 leaned prevented ntr
from seeing more clearly the exact
nature Of what icy underneath but
the gutter, or whatever Il was seem
ed 20 - bare twenty feet below me.
How TO get there. true IL Wao q
ITap OF bat twelve feet. bat below Do
yaWn-d black gulf perhaps ninety
have some very slight knowledge of
architecture Recalling fragments Of
what ] had read. ] passed my hand
along tn, coping II was as mao
hoped ~ regular intervals, near the
holes perhaps eight inches In diameter
I afCTEet tie name for them. They
had some significance IN early Norman
architecture Probably 10 serve as
openings for rOwmen To- shoot through
ar besiegesS- Their use-whatever Il
was-euded centuries ago But I decided
20 revive IL.
Rising. I pulled of my soaking, wet
bedraEEied coat and waistcoat- Both
We're of good stout cloth. 7 passed one
Of the coats sleeves through the loop
hole in the stone. brought IL around and
knotted Il. Clumsily but securely
Then / tugged at the awkward knot
until II bad slipped tight Next that
no undue strain should fan on the
into q bulky, rOpelike shape To the
other sleeves thus twisted I knotted my
vest Then ! tuEsed hard at the whole
queer cOntriVanCe-
IL yvithstood the strain How il would
30 SO when the weight Of my dangling
body should he added to ID i could but
EueSs-and hope
Thus had what seemed to be a fairly
reliable. If very short. rope
Gripping II. 1 kicked OF my low shoes,
% give better clluElng power TO my feet
Then. with infinite care. I swung over
The coping and let myself slowly down.
The furious wind caught at me ike
some sentimental thing and Swayed me
outward and then IN again with a
tIump against the wall 7 hung. nearly
a hundred feet above earth with fast
hold on nay doubtful rope trying 10
press my body fat against the wet.
rough wall and CiaWITg with my stock
luged toes for even the tiDiest fOoth0ld.
HE ilSnL sun SloEe- Brighter now
for was nearer TO IL. and the over
hanging coping was no longer IN the
Hand over hand. for perhaps a yard
or So I climbed down my knutted coat
and vest Then with nv lower hand
extended I tOIc. -ed-norhiu-- ] was If
IEe end Of my -iny. too short rope
And J had barely time 10 clutch Wit
my cropping free. hand at the loose emo
Of the tied waistcOat before my other
hand, under the double weight. should
slip from the smooth wet cloth
down The lower half Of my body al
ready swung 20 and fro I'm the patch
of light
And now saw that what 7 had sup
posed &c be mere architecture open
ing was Cd regular glazed window. with
ma unusually broad lower ledge II
stone
No window II that sort. surely. was
ever built into the belfry Of church
Then this tower did not belong 10
church But 90 what them
However. when man IS swinging
like pendulum over a gulf and cling
it is no time 10 indulge in abstract
problems OF architecture Nor C1o I
feel the remotes- inclination % do So
THE upper sill or the window. aga INST
which my chest now touched. was about
three inches wide Releasing one hand
from my rope" Z caught the wet
stone abuTmeuc- Then lowering myself
with difficulty ] let 80 Of the EuotrCd
clothing altogether and transferred my
other hand TO the sill
II was a feat that still turns me cold.
in retrospect 7 was holding. by mere
iiut Of finger strip. a wet. three-i0ch
projection Of stone From this precavf-
Gus fnEer-hOld 7 was susDendinE the en-
tire hundred and eighty pounds Of my
weight
II YOU think ir is an easy thing to do.
try Il in the gymnasium some time
Not a EalG--Tiu- mind EGU- The three
inch Su7c" did not admit Of that Three
inches only. just about enough TO sup
port the first two k1urkIes OF the FIN
gers. pressed fat. with no crook OF
other purchase
suppose did not hang thus for
more than four seconds IN all For nv
feet were searching frantiCaIly for
standing place on the window ledge he
low
And they found IT, wonder If any
one can realize the utter relief Z felt
as my TWO sIoCkjuged SoieS AZ last
rested on thar uiue-iuCh ledge. and as
the awful pressure ON my finger tins
was suddenly released
was stilI IN sufficiently dire case.