The Great White Queen by William le Queux

SO unsteady was the ladder, straining and springing at every step I took, that I was compelled to grip its wet cords with all the strength of which I was capable. It swayed to and fro fearfully, and more than once I dreaded that I should lose my hold and fall backwards to earth.

Omar above me, lithe and active as a cat, climbed on, chaffing me for my tardy progress, and now and then halting and mischievously shaking the ladder to increase my fear. The higher I ascended the more strongly blew the wind, until it whistled in the thin ropes and blew through my scanty clothing, chilling my bones. My hands and feet were bruised and sore from the previous day's descent, nevertheless I thought not of pain, only of peril. The climb was long and tedious. Even Omar, who had commenced by running up like a squirrel in his eagerness to gain the land from which he had so long been absent, was soon compelled to pause and steady himself, or he would assuredly have been jerked from his insecure position.