After many sallies
of so-called wit, Wildrake rallied Philip on the quantity of wine which
he had taken, and betted that he could not walk steadily from the one
end of the balcony to the other. Philip, with that insane pride which
can plume itself on being _mighty to mingle strong drink_, maintained
that his head was as clear and his faculties as perfect as though he had
tasted nothing but water; and declared that he could walk round the edge
of the parapet with as steady a step as he would tread the gravel-path
in the morning!
Wildrake laughed, and dared him to do it: Jones betted ten to one that
he could not.
"Done!" cried Philip, and sprang up on the parapet in a moment.
"Come down again!" called out Wildrake, who had enough of sense left to
perceive the folly and danger of the wager.
Philip did not appear to hear him. Attempting to balance himself by his
arms, with a slow and unsteady step he began to make his way along the
lofty and narrow edge.
The two young men held their breath. To one who with unsteady feet walks
the slippery margin of temptation, the higher his position, the greater
his danger; the loftier his elevation, the more perilous a fall!
"He will never get to the end!" said Jones, watching with some anxiety
the movements of his companion.
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