The Crystal Hunters Part 58

"There," he said, tearing out the leaf, "I'll put this on the big stone by the tent door, and another stone upon it to keep it down."

He suited the action to the word; and soon after, fully equipped for their little journey, the pair started, descended in due time to the glacier, where the tiny streams were trickling fast in the hot sun, and then toiled on and on through the never-wearying scenery, past the ends of the two great, now very familiar, creva.s.ses, and sat down at last to a light lunch off the entrance to the black ravine.

Here, as soon as they had finished their meal, Dale lightly chipped a cross in a piece of smooth ice, just off the entrance; while Saxe climbed up the steep valley side a little way, threw himself down upon a flat ledge of rock, and began to look cautiously round, scanning the opposite side of the valley, and then up and down and up again.

"Hist!" he whispered suddenly; "don't look up. Some one watching us."

"Whereabouts?"

"Across the valley, high up to the right of some tall, rugged seracs."

Dale slowly sank down on the ice behind a great block of granite, which must have fallen from the mountain side and been borne down upon the glacier. The next minute he was peering carefully round from one side.

"Yes, I can see him, lad," he said; "but I don't believe that fellow would touch a crystal if there were thousands."

"You always think these people are so honest!" cried Saxe. "Well, what could he do with it? I never knew one of them yet who cared for crystals. Ah! there he goes, right up over the snow. Look! look!

Saxe. Isn't it wonderful how an animal can dash at such a speed over those dangerous places!"

"Why, it must be a chamois!" cried Saxe, in disgust at his mistake.

"Yes; and I dare say there is a little herd of them somewhere up yonder in the mountain. Now are you ready to own that you are a little accustomed to give rein to your imagination?"

"I suppose so," said Saxe, rather dolefully. "It seems so easy to make mistakes."

"Yes, we all find that," said Dale merrily. "Now take another look round, and see if you can see squalls."

"Now you are laughing at me," said Saxe resentfully. "No: I am in earnest. Take a look round, boy, and then we'll go up the ravine and satisfy ourselves that it is all safe, and come back after a quiet investigation, so as to see whether there are other ways of fixing our rope. I should like to go up higher, too, and try whether we cannot get out on to the mountain, as I at first proposed."

Saxe swept their surroundings as well as he could, and paused to gaze at an ice-fall on the opposite mountain, a dull, heavy peal like thunder having announced that there had been a slip.

It was very beautiful in the bright sunshine, and looked wonderfully like water as it plunged down into a dark-looking crack, which Dale declared must be a huge bergschrund, between the snow and rock.

But there was no human being in sight, as far as Saxe could see; and as soon as he had descended, they began to climb the little lateral valley as on the previous day.

Hardly, however, had they pa.s.sed out of sight, before high up on the mountain slope, what at first sight seemed to be a bear came into sight, creeping cautiously in and out among the stones, till it reached one of the many ledges of a precipice, and trotted along toward the edge of the lateral valley, over which it peered cautiously, and then drew back and went higher, repeating the action several times, and in the distance looking more and more bearlike in its movements, only that there was this difference, that instead of the travellers stalking the bear, the animal seemed to be bent on stalking them.

CHAPTER THIRTY.

WITHIN A HAIR'S BREADTH.

A long and tiresome climb over and amongst the shattered blocks which filled the lower part of the chasm; but with the help of previous knowledge they got along pretty quickly, till they reached the rocks beneath the narrow opening--a place which looked so insignificant that the wonder was that it had not escaped Saxe's eyes.

"Now," said Dale, gazing up, "what we have to do is to puzzle out some easy way of getting up and down. What do you say, Saxe?"

"I think we ought to have a strong iron bolt or bar driven into a crack just above the cave; then tie a rope to it, and it will be easy enough to go up and down."

"First catch your hare," cried Dale merrily. "How is the bar or bolt to be driven in, my lad?"

"Oh, something after the fashion of our getting up there yesterday."

"Oh yes; something after the fashion of yesterday's attempt. Do you know, Saxe, I think we both had enough of that job yesterday; and but for the discovery of the crystals we should have been sadly out of heart."

"Let's leave it till Melchior comes back," said Saxe, as a way out of the difficulty.

Dale nodded, and after another long look at the crack in the solid rock and its surroundings, they turned their attention to a farther climb up the ravine to try whether it would be possible to get out there and make their way across.

Another long and tedious climb ensued, during which, without declaring the way to be impa.s.sable, they both averred that it was so extremely difficult that they thought it would be of no utility, and after some four hours' hard work a.s.sisting each other up by means of ice-axe and rope, they were glad to begin the descent.

But the toil was not altogether barren, for two niches were found where there seemed to be every likelihood of crystals existing within the caves, whose mouths they seemed to be, and after a certain time devoted to refreshing they turned to go back.

"I doubt very much whether any one could get along this way, Saxe," said Dale, as he held the rope for his young companion to slide down, afterwards doubling it for his own use, so as to have a great loop round a block to enable him to loosen one end and draw upon the other.

"I hope they'd enjoy the hard work if they could," said Saxe breathlessly. "Oh, what a lot of bits of skin one does knock off up here!"

"Good for the sticking-plaster makers, Saxe," said Dale. "Come along, my lad: the sun beats down very hot here."

"But what are we going to do to-day?" asked Saxe.

"Nothing. This has only been a reconnoitring trip. To-morrow we shall have Melchior back, and we can get to work in earnest."

"But are we going to do nothing else but get crystals? Aren't we going to climb any more mountains?"

"Oh yes: we must do another or two, and perhaps combine pleasure with profit. Let's see: we must be getting near the cave."

"Round that next corner," said Saxe decisively.

"How do you know?"

"Because I can see the piece of black overhanging rock which I felt compelled to stare at all the time I was stuck fast on that shelf. But, I say, Mr Dale, do you feel pretty sure that Melchior will be back at the tent when we get there?"

"I cannot be certain; but--no--yes--I can be certain," said Dale quickly. "I am sure he will not be waiting for us at the tent."

His manner puzzled the lad, who looked at him curiously.

"Well?"

"What made you change so suddenly, sir? One minute you thought one way, the next minute you thought differently."

"Because I had good reasons," replied Dale. "Look!"

Saxe looked here and there, and in every direction but the one indicated by Dale's nod.

"I don't see anything, sir."

"Try again, boy. There, on that stone, with his back to us."