At ten o'clock we gave them up for the night deeply troubled about them.

I had been sitting alone by the fire keeping the coffee hot and listening, when suddenly I heard a crackling of the bushes between me and the river and in a second or two Clem, laughing as over a joke, came to the fire with the water running off him in streams.
While I was trying to get an explanation Steward also appeared in the same condition.

At first they would not tell what had occurred but finally they confessed on condition that I would keep the matter a secret.

They had made a long hard climb and late in the afternoon had come to a place where Steward found it necessary to descend to the river in examining the strata.

They intended to climb back, but when the work was done the sun had set and it was too late to venture up as they could not climb in the dark.