cape from the belt and fall.

"Take a good grip of the rope with one hand, herr," said Melchior
quietly: "we have you. Now get hold of your ice-axe and push it on
before you."

Dale obeyed without a word, as mountaineers do follow out the
instructions one gives to another without question; and this done, he
finished the climb and stood up.

"Rather a bad bit," he said; "that projecting rock was awkward."

"Yes, herr, it teased me a little," replied Melchior quietly, "but I
found good hold for my feet. What do you think of it now?"

"Why, there's no more to do but walk quietly up this slope."

"And in ten minutes we shall stand on the snow at the very top."

Saxe drew a long breath full of relief as he looked behind him; and,
gathering up the rope, Melchior trudged on ahead, picking the best path
among the weathered and splintered rocks, till in a short time he
climbed up over the last slope, dug his ice-axe in the thick stratum of
snow, which began suddenly and sloped down toward the north, and uttered
a loud jodel.

The others joined him directly, a peculiar sensation of nervousness
still affecting Saxe, though the place was perfectly safe, and he could
have run some distance in any direction without risk of a fall.

"Grand!" cried Dale, as he looked round. "What a view! and how strange
that we should be able to stand here on the dividing line one foot on
snow, one on rock. Well, Saxe, I congratulate you on your first ascent.
You have done wonders."

"Have I?" said the boy nervously.

"Yes, wonders, herr. Bravo! Bravo!"

"Have I?" said Saxe faintly, as to himself he thought, "Oh, if they only
knew!"

"Yes, my boy; but what's the matter?"

"I--I don't know," he panted; "I--I feel as if I had overdone it, and
broken something."

"Eh? What? Where?" cried Dale, anxiously catching him by the arm.

"Here," said Saxe, striking his chest: "I can't breathe enough; it comes
short, like that."

The others burst out laughing; and Saxe stared at them angrily: it
seemed so unfeeling.

"Sit down, boy. Come, Melchior, lunch or dinner. We've got to descend.
Why, Saxe lad, where's your school teaching?"

"My teaching?"

"Yes. Don't you know you are about eleven or twelve thousand feet above
sea-level?"

"I know we are terribly high."

"Yes, and the air is so thin and rarefied that breathing is hard work.
That's nothing. Now for a good rest and refresh. We must not stay up
here very long."

"N