It was the most slippery piece of climbing of all, and about half-way along Chris was standing with one foot upon an isolated stone, the other on a ledge of slatey rock, about to make his final spring, when something floating on the surface of the still water took his attention.
"King of the Castle"
George Manville Fenn
A vein, perhaps 5 feet thick, of a slatey substance runs across just in front of us, and contains a well, which is the only sign of fresh water I have seen so far.
"The Incomparable 29th and the "River Clyde""
George Davidson
It was not his turn to choose, however, and he held his breath lest the rope of another should settle over the slatey-black ears ahead of him.
"The Happy Family"
Bertha Muzzy Bower