"Yes, herr, I'll tell you soon;" and a very, very short time after, as
they sat round their meal, Melchior went on sipping his coffee and
eating his bacon, as if he had never been in peril in his life; while
the others, in spite of the hunger produced by the keen mountain air,
could hardly partake of a morsel from the excitement they felt as the
guide told of his mishap.

"I always feel, herrs, when I have had to do with an accident, that I
have been in fault, and that I have to examine myself as to what I had
left undone; but here I cannot see that I neglected anything. The
crevasse was not wide. I had seen you both leap in safety, and I
followed. It was one of the misfortunes that happen to people, whether
they are mountaineers or quiet dwellers in the valley."

"Yes; a terrible accident, Melchior."

"Yes, herr. Sometimes we go to mishaps, sometimes they come to us.
Well, Heaven be thanked, my life was spared. Ah! herr, I am very proud
of you two, for I seem to have taught you a little. Very few of our men
would have worked more bravely, or done so well."

"Oh, nonsense! We acted as any one else would under the circumstances,"
said Dale hastily. "Tell us about your accident."

"My fall, herr? There is very little to tell."

"Little!" echoed Saxe. "Oh, go on: tell us!"

"Very well, herr," said Melchior simply; but he remained silent.

"We thought you were killed," said Dale, to bring the guide's thoughts
back.

"Yes, herr; you would. It was a bad fall; very deep, but not like going
down from a mountain. I am not broken anywhere; hardly scratched,
except my hands and arms in climbing."

"But you jumped across the crevasse, Melk!" cried Saxe, "and then a
great piece broke out."

"Yes, herr: so suddenly that I had not time to use my axe, and before I
could utter a cry I was falling fast down into the dark depths. I
believe I did cry out for help, but the noise of ice and snow falling
and breaking on a ledge some way down drowned my voice; and as I turned
over in the air, I felt that I had made my last climb, and that the end
had come, as I had known it come to better guides."

"There are no better guides," said Saxe warmly.

"No!" echoed Dale, and they saw the man's face flush a little through
his swarthy skin, and his eyes brighten.

"Oh yes, herrs," he said; "but we all try to do our best. What was I
saying? I remember: that I was falling down and down, and set my teeth
and held my ax