The Cliff Climbers A Sequel to "The Plant Hunters"

The idea that had occurred to them--of making the cave their home--was no longer deemed worthy of being entertained. The dangerous proximity of the elephant had alone suggested...

Karl had scarcely finished speaking, when, as if to illustrate still further the habits of the ibex, a curious incident occurred to the animal upon, which their eyes were fixed.

As the ibex kept its ground, without showing any signs of retreating, or even moving a muscle of its body, they remained watching it. Not, however, in silence: for as the animal...

As soon as they had hung the ibex-meat upon the curing strings, and pegged out the two skins for drying, they turned their attention to the making of the rope by which they were...

To the great delight of the party, it turned out just as Karl had conjectured. The thicket that he had spoken of was composed chiefly of daphne shrubs--judging by the appearance...

"Our dinner!" shouted Caspar, gleefully, as the "thump" of the falling ibex sounded in their ears. "Our supper, too," he added. "Ay, more! In such a large carcass there must be...

It may be asked why they had not entertained the thought, and endeavoured to carry it into practical effect: since a balloon would have been far more likely to have delivered th...

Our scene lies in the very heart of the Himalayas--in that district of them least explored by English travellers, though not the most distant from the Anglo-Indian capital, Calc...

As their bean-sacks had been already filled, it was determined that they should first take them to the hut, and then return to the storks with the design of capturing them. Ossa...

It took them another day--with their blades all busy from morning till night--to prepare the pegs which were to constitute the "rounds" of their rope-ladder. More than a hundred...

They had arrived nearly at the hut, before any of the three thought of speaking; when the sight of that rude homestead, to which they had so often fancied themselves on the eve...

The joy, which all felt at the miraculous escape of Ossaroo, more than compensated for their chagrin at the circumstance of the kite having returned to them: more especially, as...

"And so, brother," said Karl, who was the first to return to the subject, "you say there is a bird of the eagle genus, that might carry a rope over the cliff for us. Of what bir...

Never, during all the days of their sojourn in that "Valley of Despond," did our adventurers feel more despondence, than on the afternoon that succeeded the bursting of their gr...

The kite having been thus prepared, they only waited for an opportunity of flying it--for a day when the wind should be sufficiently strong, and blowing from the right quarter--...

Who has not heard of the Himalayas--those Titanic masses of mountains that interpose themselves between the hot plains of India and the cold table-lands of Thibet--a worthy barr...

Karl was the only one of the three who knew anything about a balloon, or the mode of inflating it. Had it been their intention of navigating the air, an apparatus would have bee...

The shikaree rose from his seat; and going into the hovel, returned presently--bringing back with him a long shrivelled object, which any one could tell to be a dried eel-skin.

The brace of gigantic birds, that had thus alighted by the shore of the little lake, were, to say the least, uncouth creatures; for the whole ornithological world might be ransa...

Big as was the body of the peacock, there was not much of it left after that _dejeuner aux doigts_! Only the bones; and so clean picked were they, that had Fritz not already bee...

Just while it was in the midst of its performance, keeping its _water-battery_ in full play, and apparently with malicious enjoyment, it was seen all at once to desist; and then...

In this unexpected supply of food--which might be said almost literally to have descended from heaven--Karl could not help recognising the hand of Providence, and pointing it ou...

Our adventurers witnessed the uprising of the birds with looks that betokened disappointment and displeasure; and Fritz was in danger of getting severely castigated. He merited...

In this attitude he remained for several minutes--the elephant all the while continuing its efforts to reach him Karl and Caspar, seated upon the branches of the tree, to which...

As Ossaroo hung upon the rope half-way up the precipice, the wind acting upon his body, carried him at times several feet out from the face of the cliff--causing him also to osc...

Just then the curved projection was observed to recede within the tree; and in its place appeared a small dark hole, apparently the entrance to a larger cavity. Karl, as Caspar...

As soon as the elephant was fairly out of sight, the besieged took counsel among themselves about descending to the earth. They were sorely tired of the positions which they had...

They had been asleep several hours, when all three were suddenly awakened by the barking of Fritz. During night hours the faithful creature stayed habitually within the hut--whe...

Ossaroo could not answer this question. He was himself equally puzzled by the appearance of the huge quadruped; and still rather inclined to the belief that it was some of his t...

Though the three had set out that morning with a wholesome dread of the elephant, and a determination to go about their reconnoissance with caution, their joy at the discovery o...

Without further delay, our adventurers took the back track towards the hut, which was exactly that which the elephant had taken--as they could tell by traces of the animal all a...

The cutting down of the trees did not occupy them a very long time. They chose only those of slender girth--the more slender the better, so long as they answered the requirement...

He repeated his bark many times, with intervals of silence between--and was about yielding to the conviction, that not only the open ground, but the bushes around it, were going...

Karl Linden, a young German student, who had taken part in the revolutionary struggles of 1848, had by the act of banishment sought an asylum in London. Like most refugees, he w...

As the tree into which they had retreated was a very large one, there was no longer any present fear of danger from the elephant, however furious the latter might be; and they c...

How the affair might have ended had the panda and the hornbill been the only parties to the combat, can but be guessed at. In all likelihood the quadruped would have triumphed o...

There was nothing mysterious in the disappearance of the cord. The kite was no longer visible on the summit of the cliff. The wind had carried it away; and, of course, its rope...

The advent of the adjutants produced a vivid impression on the minds of all three of our adventurers--more vivid, perhaps, upon Ossaroo than either of the others. To him they se...

After the departure of the bird, that had taught our young adventurers so interesting a chapter of natural history, the elephant once more engrossed their attention. Not that th...

Next morning all three were astir betimes, and out of the hut by the earliest light of day. Karl and Caspar were anxious to obtain more definite information about the elephant,...

They might have remained longer on the ground lamenting this irreparable loss, but that they were still apprehensive of the return of the elephant. Whither had it gone? That was...

"A brass ring! Oh yes!" replied Caspar; "now I do remember. In the Botanic Gardens there was an adjutant with a ring round its ankle; a brass ring, too--just like this one. How...

It was not upon that occasion that Karl communicated to his companions all these interesting facts in relation to the great lily. Many of them he had made known long before--esp...

Karl, although he had never seen one of these birds alive, had yet examined stuffed specimens of them in museums, and he had no difficulty in recognising the bird. He was able e...

Working diligently with their knives two days sufficed to make guns, axe, and spear as good as ever. Ossaroo also made himself a new bow and a full quiver of arrows.

The exertions which they had made in carrying and erecting the ladders had so wearied them, that, despite their empty stomachs, all three were able to sleep. Their slumber, howe...

The usual silence which succeeds a disappointment was for some time preserved by the three individuals who had been spectators of the unsuccessful attempt of the eagle. Caspar s...

The first thing to be done, was to look to the quality of the rope, and test its strength. The ladders were already in place, just as they had been left. The rope once _proved_,...

In a few minutes the three hunters had lost sight of one another, Karl and Caspar proceeding round the lake by opposite sides, but both keeping under cover of the bushes; while...

Still, it was not much; for although they would be safe enough while in the cavern, they could not accomplish anything there. The want of light would hinder them from working at...

Emerging from the cave after their fruitless exploration, all three-- Karl, Caspar, and Ossaroo--sat down upon the rocks in front of the cliff, and for some time remained silent...

As if sent to cheer and distract their minds from the feeling of dread awe which still held possession of them, just then the shrill whistle of Ossaroo came pealing across the l...

Fritz had retreated with his masters as far as the bottom of the tree; but possessing only canine claws, he was not a climber; and of course could follow them no further. But if...

For the full length of another hour did the trio in the tree have their patience tested. During all that time the "rogue" remained upon the ground, continuing his perambulations...

Long sat they in this attitude, all three, observing a profound silence. The air was keenly cold, for it was now mid-winter, but none of them seemed to feel the cold. The deep d...

All three stood around the spot where the chopped grass and shawl-wool were to be set on fire. This fuel itself appeared underneath--in a little heap lightly laid, and ready for...

The discovery of the water-lily was not a thing of recent occurrence. They had known of its existence before; and more than once had visited the little embayment in the lake, wh...

It was only after they had gone back for their baskets of beans, and once more returned to the hut, that Caspar and Ossaroo found time to indulge in their conjectures. Then both...

The moment after, Ossaroo stood upon the summit of the obelisk. But even there he was far from being confident of security: for the pursuer had not abandoned the hope of being a...

They had to wait for the return of the rainy season; when the rivers that traverse the great plains of Hindostan became brimful of flood-- bearing upon their turbid bosoms that...

This odd little episode, between the boar-hound and the churk falcons, had interrupted the conversation of the two brothers on the subject which Caspar had introduced. Nor was i...

Having by Caspar's ingenious artifice obtained as much water as they wanted, the besieged felt better able to endure their irksome situation. They were resigning themselves with...