orge, "about three miles, and
then we come to a fork in it; that is, to a place where the valley
divides into two branches, one turning off to the right and the other to
the left. Directly ahead there is an enormous precipice, I don't know
how many thousand feet high, of bare rock.

"One of these branch valleys," continued Mr. George, "leads up to one
side of the Wengern Alp and the Jungfrau, and the other to the other
side. We may take the right-hand valley and go up five or six miles to
Lauterbrunnen, or we may take the left-hand branch and go up to
Grindelwald. Which way do you think we had better go?"

"I do not know," said Rollo. "Can we get up to the Wengern Alp from
either valley?"

"Yes," said Mr. George. "We can go up from one of these valleys, and
then, after stopping as long as we choose on the Alp, we can continue
our journey and so come down into the other, and thus see them both. One
of the valleys is famous for two great glaciers that descend into it.
The other is famous for immense waterfalls that come down over the
precipices at the sides."

"Let us go first and see the waterfalls," said Rollo.

"Well," said Mr. George, "we will. We shall have to turn to the right in
that case and go to Lauterbrunnen. When we get to Lauterbrunnen we shall
have to leave our carriage and take horses to go up to the Wengern Alp.
The way is by a steep path, formed in zigzags, right up the sides of the
mountains."

"How far is it?" asked Rollo.

"I don't know precisely," said Mr. George; "but it is a good many miles.
It takes, at any rate, several hours to go up. We can stop at the
Wengern Alp as long as we please and look at the Jungfrau and the
avalanches, and after that go on down into the valley of Grindelwald on
the other side, and so come home."

"But how can we get our carriage?" asked Rollo.

"O, they send the carriage back, I believe," said Mr. George, "from
Lauterbrunnen to the great precipice at the fork of the valley."

Mr. George, having thus finished his account of the topography of the
route to the Wengern Alp, went away from the window and returned to the
table where he had been employed in writing some letters just before
Rollo had come in. Rollo was left at the window. He leaned his arms upon
the sill, and, looking down to the area below, amused himself with
observing what was going on there.

There were several persons standing or sitting upon the piazza.
Presently he heard the sound of wheel