TIGER'S TEETH in 



was possible to press his toes into the slight 

 slope, and rest. 



For a minute he lay thus, in agony. But 

 he knew that to rest much was fatal; reaction 

 would set in. He wound his left leg round 

 the rope, seized the guide-rope (which ran 

 through another loose belt) and patiently 

 pulled its lower end through so that there 

 should be no slack between him and the 

 two men above. After an eternity of patient 

 hauling the line lay straight between him 

 and the lip of the Hole. Then he wound 

 it twice round his thick neck, and bit on it 

 firmly with his teeth. This done, he gave 

 five tugs on it, and saw it tighten. Crushing 

 his jaws together, he took the mighty strain, 

 and was drawn up a foot. Arching his back, 

 and leaning out nearly at right angles to the 

 face of the cliff, he put one foot above the 

 other. All the weight of his ascent was 

 borne by his teeth; they were his last hope. 

 Tiger's teeth were yellow like old ivory, and 

 the best in the village. Many a time he had 



