CHAPTER THE LAST. 403 



" Yes, he was dead ; but he must have expired while 

 leaning against the tree, for he was sitting exactly as if 

 alive ; had no tree been there, he would have rolled 

 over, and we should never have seen anything more 

 of him. Well, I then went to see about fetching him 

 out, but they ah 1 said it was quite impossible to get 

 along the ledge. However the chamois was there, 

 and I was determined not to lose him without at least 

 making a trial to reach the place. So I went first, 

 and a young forester and one of the wood-cutters 

 followed/' 



" How broad was the ledge ?" I asked. 



" It was nowhere broader than from here to there," 

 he replied, pointing to two lines in the flooring of the 

 room, marking a space of seventeen inches wide; 

 " broader than that it was nowhere of that I am cer- 

 tain ; but in many parts it was not larger than this bor- 

 der," pointing to some inlaid woodwork, seven inches 

 wide ; " and on one side, rising up above you, the wall 

 of rock, and on the other a depth of 3000 feet down to 

 the lake. We went along some way, when there, right 

 before us, was a gap, not very broad, it is true, but 

 still too wide to step across, or even for a jump. The 

 cleft was perhaps five and a hah feet wide, and below 

 in the chasm it was wild and frightful to look at." 



" But how was it possible to pass ?" 



"We had a tree cut down, and flung the stem 

 across, and went over one after the other. At last 

 we reached the place where the chamois lay. It was 

 a green spot, just large enough for us three to stand 



