High up near the top of the mighty cliff could be seen a small hole in the rock, which was all that remained of the observatory.
"It will be impossible, I fear, to reach that spot," said Nigel; "there does not appear to be foothold for a goat."
"I will reach it," said the hermit in a low voice, as he scanned the precipice carefully.
"No, Moses, I go alone. You will remain in the boat and watch. If I fall, you can pick me up."
"Pick you up!" echoed Moses. "If you tumbles a t'ousand feet into de water how much t'ink you will be lef to pick up?"
It was useless to attempt to dissuade Van der Kemp. Being well aware of this, they all held their peace while he landed on a spur of the riven cliff.
The first part of the ascent was easy enough, the ground having been irregularly broken, so that the climber disappeared behind masses of rock at times, while he kept as much as possible to the western edge of the mountain where the cleavage had occurred; but as he ascended he was forced to come out upon narrow ledges that had been left here and there on the face of the cliff, where he seemed, to those who were watching far below, like a mere black spot on the face of a gigantic wall. Still upward he went, slowly but steadily, till he reached a spot nearly level with the observatory. Here he had to go out on the sheer precipice, where his footholds were invisible from below.
Winnie sat in the boat with blanched face and tightly clasped hands, panting with anxiety as she gazed upwards.
"It looks much more dangerous from here than it is in reality," said Nigel to her in a reassuring tone.
"Das true, Massa Nadgel, das bery true," interposed Moses, endeavouring to comfort himself as well as the others by the intense earnestness of his manner. "De only danger, Miss Winnie, lies in your fadder losin' his head at sitch a t'riffic height, an' dar's no fear at all ob dat, for Massa neber loses his head--pooh! you might as well talk ob him losin' his heart. Look! look! he git close to de hole now--he put his foot--yes--next step--dar! he've done it!"
With the perspiration of anxiety streaming down his face the negro relieved his feelings by a wild prolonged cheer. Nigel obtained the same relief by means of a deep long-drawn sigh, but Winnie did not move; she seemed to realise her father's danger better than her companions, and remembered that the descent would be much more difficult than the ascent. They were not kept long in suspense. In a few minutes the hermit reappeared and began to retrace his steps--slowly but steadily--and the watchers breathed more freely.