, however, with an increasing hopeful feeling,
for this was evidently the way to avoid pursuit or check. They were on
the ice, and to this they must trust for the rest of their journey till
they were well within reach of the Ghil Valley, to which they must
descend.

Slip.

In an instant Bracy was down, starting on a rapid descent toward the
place they had left; but at his first rush he heard beneath him a sharp
blow delivered in the glazed surface, and he was suddenly brought up by
the body of Gedge.

"Hold tight, sir! All right. I've got something to anchor us."

"Ha!" ejaculated Bracy breathlessly. "It was so sudden."

"Yes, sir; don't give you much time to think. You'd better do as I do."

"What's that?"

"Keep your bay'net in your hand ready to dig down into the ice. Stopped
me d'reckly, and that stopped you."

"Yes, I'll do so. A minute's rest, and then we'll go on again."

"Make it two, sir. You sound as if you haven't got your wind back."

"I shall be all right directly, my lad. This is grand. I hope by
daylight that we shall be in safety."

"That's right, sir. My! shouldn't I have liked this when I was a
youngster! Think we shall come back this way?"

"Possibly," said Bracy.

"Be easy travelling, sir. Why, we could sit down on our heels and skim
along on the nails of our boots, with nothing to do but steer."

"Don't talk, my lad," said Bracy. "Now, forward once more."

The journey was continued, and grew so laborious at last from the
smoothness of the ice, which increased as the gradient grew heavier--the
melted snow having run and made the surface more compact during the
sunny noon; and at the end of another couple of hours the difficulty of
getting on and up was so great that Bracy changed his course a little so
as to lessen the ascent by taking it diagonally.

This made matters a little better, and tramp, tramp, they went on and
on, rising more swiftly than they knew, and little incommoded now by the
darkness, for the stars were shining out through the cloudy mist which
hung over the slope, while their spirits seemed to rise with the ascent.

"Have we passed the rocks along which we saw that body of men moving?"
said Bracy at last.

"I s'pose not, sir, or we must have felt 'em. They must have been a
long way off when we saw 'em going along."

"Yes; the distances are very deceptive, and--Ah! stones, rocks. Here is
the rough track at last."

They halted again, for by wal