Evening star., 1923-05-06
Climbers Trapped in Mountain After SCALING Cucuhy Peak in Bra

through my clenchcd teeth as stood
painting with fatigue and uncertainty.
rs it true?' 7 kept asking myself.
"Can we actually be trapped within
mountain"
"Oh. senior. . senior! 'Vasco
called. what shall we do?'
"Nino" yelled, "Nino!
Like a distant puff OF wind. heard
the small boy who had passed
through the opening into the sun
light before tho slipping bowlder had
shut US in call. Isl, senior, 1 am
here; what can / do?'
An idea had occurred to me.
t'Nino!" screamed, "go out into the
corest and get some long cepo ropes
Climb with them to the foot or the
ledge upon which we sat-quick.
Isl. senior" 1 heard the boy re-
ply, as though he were on the other
side of the world.
"Vasco" I called, cropping about in
the darkness.
"Ump! It's black" Vasco grunted
not more than a foot away from me.
Let US go up TO the first ledge
where the piumes ate us-and see IL
X u y
WYE commenced scrambling upward,
w hand over hand from bowlder
to bowlder until we had squeezed
through the jagged opening leading
into the large chamber above into
which shot that slender shaft Of light.
Bats flew around in hordes, bumped
into us and fell fluttering about our
feet, whistling shrilly. Ono by one
we climbed up through the small
opening through which the light
shone and were again out upon the
narrow ledge. Clouds were piling up
and floating over the shadowed
jungle.
Away below-about one hundred
feet-I saw the young boy emerge
from the bushes with two coils Of
reddish rope vine over his shoulders.
The ledge dropped in a sheer wall
to the gentler sloping rock on which
the nino stood looking up at us. L
examined the ledge for some tendrils
with which to fashion a cord long
| enough to draw up the strong cepo,
| but the rock was barren Of any form
! of vegetation. I saw Nasco begin 10
| unravel a slender cord.
TT is to catch fish" he explained.
IT always carry it. He. he. There
| are many things to fish for besides
| fish," He leaned over the ledge and
let the string unravel until he held it
| by it's end TOO short" he grunted
| 1 looked over. Yes, it hung ten feet
above the nino's head.
| will use them
! Vasco and the others set to wor~
| tearing off the frayed pieces from
my shirt and tying them together
until fifteen feet had been formed.
| We tested the string of Enotted rags
| and. finding it strong, tied it to the
fishing cord and lowered away until
| 1t dangled in front of the nino's face.
| He secured an end of one of the coils
! of cepo to the cord and Nasco began
| carefully hauling up the precious
vegetable rope. The nino, below, join
| ed his two vines together and we had
a sufficient length of very strong ma
| terial that reached from the ledge to
| the lower rock, with few feet left
| over Two of US wrapped as much of
the vine as we could spare around a
lenticular stone that was held Sc
curely in place by the weight of
many rugged powders. Then we let
ourselves over one by one and slid
carefully to this point of safety.
The light of day was fading and
we hurriedly began sliding again
and scramblinG down the remaining
/ slope of mountain rock. Eventually,
and with sensation of triumph
which quite overcame that of our
pains, we reached the tall jungle be-
low.
Copyright by tire Open Road