Alan looked neither to the right nor to the left , but jumped clean upon the middle rock and fell there on his hands and knees to check himself , for that rock was small and he might have pitched over on the far side . I had scarce time to measure the distance or to understand the peril before I had followed him , and he had caught and stopped me . So there we stood , side by side upon a small rock slippery with spray , a far broader leap in front of us , and the river dinning upon all sides . When I saw where I was , there came on me a deadly sickness of fear , and I put my hand over my eyes . Alan took me and shook me ; I saw he was speaking , but the roaring of the falls and the trouble of my mind prevented me from hearing ; only I saw his face was red with anger , and that he stamped upon the rock . The same look showed me the water raging by , and the mist hanging in the air : and with that I covered my eyes again and shuddered . The next minute Alan had set the brandy bottle to my lips , and forced me to drink about a gill , which sent the blood into my head again . Then , putting his hands to his mouth , and his mouth to my ear , he shouted , `` Hang or drown ! '' and turning his back upon me , leaped over the farther branch of the stream , and landed safe . I was now alone upon the rock , which gave me the more room ; the brandy was singing in my ears ; I had this good example fresh before me , and just wit enough to see that if I did not leap at once , I should never leap at all . I bent low on my knees and flung myself forth , with that kind of anger of despair that has sometimes stood me in stead of courage . Sure enough , it was but my hands that reached the full length ; these slipped , caught again , slipped again ; and I was sliddering back into the lynn , when Alan seized me , first by the hair , then by the collar , and with a great strain dragged me into safety . Never a word he said , but set off running again for his life , and I must stagger to my feet and run after him . I had been weary before , but now I was sick and bruised , and partly drunken with the brandy ; I kept stumbling as I ran , I had a stitch that came near to overmaster me ; and when at last Alan paused under a great rock that stood there among a number of others , it was none too soon for David Balfour . A great rock I have said ; but by rights it was two rocks leaning together at the top , both some twenty feet high , and at the first sight inaccessible . Even Alan -LRB- though you may say he had as good as four hands -RRB- failed twice in an attempt to climb them ; and it was only at the third trial , and then by standing on my shoulders and leaping up with such force as I thought must have broken my collar-bone , that he secured a lodgment . Once there , he let down his leathern girdle ; and with the aid of that and a pair of shallow footholds in the rock , I scrambled up beside him . Then I saw why we had come there ; for the two rocks , being both somewhat hollow on the top and sloping one to the other , made a kind of dish or saucer , where as many as three or four men might have lain hidden . All this while Alan had not said a word , and had run and climbed with such a savage , silent frenzy of hurry , that I knew that he was in mortal fear of some miscarriage . Even now we were on the rock he said nothing , nor so much as relaxed the frowning look upon his face ; but clapped flat down , and keeping only one eye above the edge of our place of shelter scouted all round the compass .
The dawn had come quite clear ; we could see the stony sides of the valley , and its bottom , which was bestrewed with rocks , and the river , which went from one side to another , and made white XXXXX ; but nowhere the smoke of a house , nor any living creature but some eagles screaming round a cliff .
falls fell running said scouted sent set stagger thought took