nd then another and
another, but all out of reach without chipping steps in the stone--of
course a most arduous task.

"All signs that we are in the right formation, Saxe," said Dale more
hopefully, after they had toiled on up the side of the glacier for about
a couple of hours; and they stood watching Melchior, who had mounted on
to the ice to see if he could find better travelling for them.

"Yes," he shouted--"better here;" and the others climbed up and joined
him, to find that the surface was much smoother, and that the broken-up
masses of ice were far less frequent.

"Plenty of crevasses, herr," said Melchior; "but they are all to be
seen. There is no snow to bridge them over."

He stood looking down one of the blue cracks zigzagged across the
glacier, and Saxe could not help a shudder as he gazed down into its
blue depths and listened to the roar of water which came up from below.

But it was not more than a yard in width, and in turn they leaped across
and continued their way.

Then they had to pass another, half the width, and others that were mere
fissures, which Dale said were slowly splitting; but soon after stepping
across the last of these, further progress over the ice was barred by a
great chasm four or five yards from edge to edge, along which they had
to skirt till its end could be turned and their journey continued.

"Can we take to the rocks again?" said Dale, looking anxiously toward
the almost perpendicular sides of the valley up which they slowly made
their way.

"Not yet, herr: I have been watching, and we are still only passing mere
crevices in the rock. Hah! now we are coming to the enow, and shall
have to take care."

He pointed with his ice-axe to where, a hundred yards or so farther on,
the surface of the ice suddenly changed; but they did not pass at once
on to the snow, for as they neared it they found that they were parted
from it by another crevasse of about four feet wide.

"We need not go round this, I suppose," said Dale, as he stood peering
down into its depths--Saxe following his example, and listening to a
peculiar hissing rush of water far below.

"No, herr, the leap is so short. Shall I go first?"

"Oh no," said Dale, stepping back and then jumping lightly across, to
alight on the snow; "beautiful landing, Saxe. Take a bit of a run."

"Yes," said the boy; and he stepped back also for a few yards, sprang
and cleared the gap with a yard or so to spare. "What a pl