, and insisted upon presenting Saxe
with a very nasty-smelling cheese of her own make, the little party
journeyed back through the various valleys, and on to the lovely lake of
deep waters, where the mountains rose up like walls on either side, and
then on and on to Waldberg, whence they were to start next day for home.

And then came the parting from the guide--the brave, faithful companion
of many months.

"And now, Melchior!" said Dale, "I want you to accept this, not as
payment, but as a gift from one friend to another--a present to the man
whose hand was always ready to save us in perilous times."

"That, herr!" said Melchior. "No, no: you have paid me nobly, and it
has not been work, but a pleasure journey with two friends."

"Nonsense, man: take it."

"But, herr!" cried Melchior. "That watch for a poor Swiss guide!--it is
gold!"

"Well, man, yours is a golden heart! Take it, and some day you may tell
your son that it came from an English boy and man who looked upon you as
friends. The watch was mine; the chain is from Saxe here: they are
yours."

The tears stood in Melchior's eyes as the watch was handed to Saxe, who
thrust it into the guide's pocket. Then he grasped their hands.

"Good-bye," he said, in perfect English--"Leben Sie wohl. Ah!" he cried
excitedly: "I know French but badly; but there is a farewell they have,
herrs, which fits so well. The mountains are here, and everlasting. It
is nearly winter now, but the summer will come again, when the snows are
melting, and the valleys will be green and beautiful once more; and when
those bright days are here I shall see that the peaks are waiting to be
climbed and that there are perils to be bravely met by those who love
our land; and then I shall pray. Herr Dale, that you will come again,
and that you, Herr Saxe, will come, and, taking me by the hand, say, as
you have so often said, `where to to-day?' Make me happy, gentlemen--
me, the man you called more than guide, your friend--tell me you will
come again."

"We will, please God--we will!" cried Saxe.

"The words I would have said," said Dale.

"Then, now for those words of French, dear herr: Au revoir!"

THE END.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Crystal Hunters, by George Manville Fenn

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