water of the lake run out."

"Yes; and how far is it through?" said Dale.

"About a mile: less than half an hour."

"And this ledge goes right along?"

"Just as it has run by the side of the lake, herr. A little narrower
sometimes."

"But you say the gorge--the crack--gets narrower directly."

"Oh yes--much, herr. It is never so wide as this."

"But the water: is there room for it?"

"The crack or split in the rocks must be very deep down, for all the
water from the lake runs through here, and it's quite a big river on the
other side."

"And what other way is there, Melchior?" asked Saxe.

"The way we came."

"No other?"

The guide shook his head.

"What do you think of it, Saxe? Will you venture?"

The lad drew a long breath, and said, through his teeth--

"Yes. I'm not going to be beaten by a mule!"

"Go on, then," said Dale quietly, "and as soon as we are through we must
have a halt for a meal."

"Not as soon as we are through, herr," said Melchior, smiling; and he
began to unfasten the mule's girths.

"What are you doing?" cried Saxe.

"Taking off the pannier," replied the guide. "The ledge is narrow
farther in, and it would be awkward if the basket caught against the
rock. It might cause him to make a false step, and it would be a bad
place to fall in."

"Bad place? Horrible!" said Dale, frowning.

"But, I say, you can't leave the basket behind with all the victuals,"
cried Saxe.

"No, herr; as soon as the mule is through, I shall come back and fetch
it."

"We two must carry it between us, slung on the alpenstocks," said Dale.

"No, herr, I will manage it all," said Melchior quietly. "I can soon
fetch the basket, and it will be better. The young herr will want all
his activity to get along without a load. I have been here four times
before. I should have been five times; but one May the snow had melted
after a great rain, and the lake was so full that the waters were feet
above the pathway, and they rushed through, so that the great walls of
rock shook as if they would fall in. There," he said, removing the
mule's load and carrying it two or three yards back, to place it against
the natural wall. "It will be quite safe there," he continued, with a
smile; "nobody will come. Ah, Gros, my friend, is that cool and
restful?"

The mule whinnied, arched up its back, and shook itself, swung back its
head, first one side then on the other, to bite at the hot place where
the