56 On Climbing in General 
succeeded in becoming jambed in ‘Clincher Hole.” In his case, it 
was not owing to extra width of shoulder or depth of chest as in 
that of the British bluejackets who had been unable to pass 
through it, and I imagine his sticking was more of the nature of 
a fish-bone across the gullet type. Anyway he became fixed, to 
the consternation of those below him who thus saw their retreat 
cut off. The tale goes that at one time it was under considera- 
tion to sacrifice him for the good of the majority and remove 
him piecemeal. Happily, he was eventually dragged out. 
Equally bad luck attended another party of my _ brother 
subalterns who with more pluck than knowledge and less skill 
than either gallantly attempted a climb up the back of the 
Rock, with disastrous results, for they finally got to the spot 
which somehow is always found by unskilled climbers, where they 
could not go on and dared not go back! Luckily their plight 
was noticed from the Signal Station and the alarm was given. 
After the inevitable report to the Town Major and his myr- 
midons, the services of the Royal Artillery and Engineers were 
invoked, ropes were procured and the luckless youths extricated 
from their predicament. It was after this that the Governor rose 
in his wrath and a Garrison Order was issued forbidding officers 
to climb the Rock. 
But all this happened long ago. When in a sudden access 
of hysteric caution following on years of ‘“‘go as you please”’ 
all the upper portion of the Rock was enclosed by a high spiked 
iron paling, some unimaginative official had the fatuity to style 
it officially ““The Unclimbable Fence,” and numerous Orders 
were drafted with respect to it in which it was thus described. 
It is hard to imagine a more direct challenge to a man addicted 
to climbing. At this psychological moment I chanced to land at 
Gibraltar on leave from England. I climbed that fence, not for 
pleasure or for vanity, but as a matter of duty to the confraternity 
