vel ridge
once more. He then turned slowly round, slung his bag in front of him,
and leaning back against the wall, surveyed the giddy road which he must
traverse to reach the glacier and the steep declivities of the
Engelhorn, and thereafter his native valley.

It was a difficult and dangerous road; but the young mountaineer's heart
was now full of joy and confidence, for he had surmounted the greatest
difficulty, and the prize of his bold and daring venture was in his
possession. He uttered an exclamation of triumph; then, thanking God for
the help he had received, he implored the Divine protection on his
homeward journey. The sharp ridge made it necessary for him, as before,
to work his way forward astride on the rock for some time; but he soon
got within sight of a part where it would be possible to go on his hands
and knees, and was just about to change his straddling position for the
more comfortable one of crawling, when the constant shrieking of the
young vultures in his bag was answered by a piercing cry from above,
followed the next moment by the loud rushing of powerful wings close to
his ear. The boy uttered an exclamation of horror, and clung with all
his might to the rock to prevent himself from falling.

In an instant he perceived the fearful danger that threatened him. One,
or perhaps both the old birds had been attracted by the cries of the
young ones, and were about to avenge themselves on the robber of their
nest. Walter guessed that a hard fight would probably take place, and
his first impulse was to throw the bag with the young birds into the
valley beneath, and then try to make his escape as well as he might. But
he soon found that this plan was more readily formed than it could be
executed; for before he could make a single movement, he felt the blast
of the wings just above his head, while the screaming of the enraged
bird so confused his senses that he had great difficulty to avoid being
hurled from his narrow resting-place into the ravine below. This sudden
danger, although it alarmed him for the moment, awoke the next moment
the courage and determination of the brave-hearted boy. It was a case of
life or death, and it was vain to think of retiring from the contest.
So, snatching his axe from his belt, he aimed a powerful blow at the old
vulture as she swept down upon him for the third time. He succeeded
beyond his expectation, for the blow, made almost at random, struck the
wing of the bird,