Page:The Swiss Family Robinson - 1851.djvu/311

290 and boy. The thoughts of their agony unnerved me, and took away all courage for the commencement of a labour which seemed impossible, our only utensils being a small saw, and a little dibble for taking up plants, which Ernest had been unwilling to leave behind us. The path by which Jack and I had passed as covered with rocks and masses of soil, which obstructed even the course of the stream; we could not discover the place we had forded, the river had opened itself a wider course, far beyond its former one.

"It is impossible," said Fritz, gazing on the ruins, "that we can remove all these immense stones without proper tools; but perhaps, with a little courage, we may cross over them, the rivulet being widened cannot be very deep. At all events, it cannot be worse than the coral reefs."

"Let us try; but I fear it will be impossible, at least for him," said I, pointing to Jack.

"Him, indeed papa, and why not?" said the bold fellow; "he is perhaps as strong, and more active, than some of them; ask Fritz what he thinks of his workman. Shall I go the first to show you the way?"

And he was advancing boldly but I checked him, and said, that before we undertook to scale these masses of rock absolutely bare, where we had nothing to support us, or to hold by, it would be as well to examine if, by descending lower, we could not find a less dangerous road. We descended to the narrow pass, and found our drawbridge, plantation, all our fortification that my boys were so proud of and where, at Fritz's request, I had even planted a smaJl cannon, all all destroyed; the cannon swallowed up with the