n a faint, appealing whisper.

"There!" cried Saxe excitedly; "I couldn't go without trying once more.
I knew it: he isn't dead! You heard that?"

"Yes," said Dale, with a pitying look at his companion, "I heard that."

"Well? He's not dead. I'll stay here, and keep shouting to him now and
then, while you go for help. Run at once. Stop a minute. Give me your
flask; I'll lower it down to him with the string."

"Saxe, my lad," said Dale sadly, "you are buoying yourself up with false
hopes."

"No, no! I heard him answer distinctly," cried Saxe wildly. "Hark!
I'll call again. Melchior, Mel--chi--or!"

He gave forth the last cry with all his might, emphasising the "chi--
or!" and, probably from his being on the opposite side of the crevasse,
and more favourably placed for the acoustic phenomenon, the syllables
were repeated, after a pause, faintly but distinctly--an effect that had
not been produced by any of the lad's cries on the other side of the
crevasse.

"There!" cried Saxe.

Dale laid his hand upon the boy's shoulder, and shook his head sadly.
Then, bending down, he too shouted--

"A-hoy-oy-oy!"

And, after a pause, there came up distinctly the latter part of the
word.

"Ahoy!" shouted Dale again, sharply.

"Hoy!" came up.

"You hear," said Dale. "It is only an echo. A man down there in peril
would not repeat words. In nine cases out of ten he would cry `help!'"

Saxe turned away from the crevasse with a groan that told how forcibly
his companion's words had gone home; but he turned back again.

"It seems so cruel to come away even if he is dead," he whispered.
"Shall I stop while you go!"

"No, Saxe. If we could hear him answer, I should at any cost say Stay,
or I would myself stop, for I believe that a word or two from time to
time would have encouraged him to struggle on for his life. But to stay
there by that crevasse through the night, without proper protection,
might mean your death. The cold up here must be terrible. Come."

Saxe followed him slowly, with his head bent to hide the tears standing
in his eyes, and then Dale took his arm.

"We have done our duty so far," he said; "and we are doing it now in
going for help to try and rescue the poor fellow's remains from yon icy
tomb. Believe me, my lad, I would not come away if there was anything
more that we could do."

Saxe was silent for a few minutes, as they tramped on over the ice,
which was now beginning to take a w