"Is the rope strong enough to hold us both?" he
asked, turning again to the Indian.
"Plenty strong," replied Thomas Jefferson. "I shall not take hold. You'll
have it all."
"How then will you get up there?" demanded George, aghast at the
suggestion.
"I shall climb. It's not new work for me. I shall be close behind you so
that if you fall I may help."
"If I fall or the lariat breaks," declared George, "there will be no
stopping me. Both of us will go straight to the bottom of the gulch."
"Look up all the time," suggested the Indian. "Don't once look behind you.
You need not fear for me for I have no fear for myself. Besides Kitoni is
very strong. He has taken a purchase around a tree and the rope cannot
slip. You are perfectly safe."
"Shall I try to climb by using the rope or shall I dig in my fingers and
toes and try that way?"
"Don't pull on the rope too much," answered the Navajo. "There will be
places where you may have to do that. It will be safe to do so for Kitoni
will take in all slack, but it will be better if you try to climb."
"Here goes then," said George in a low voice as he turned and began the
perilous ascent.
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