d eye among them. High on the summit of
the precipice, where its edge cut sharply against the blue sky, could be
seen the black boulders and _debris_ of the lateral moraine of the
glacier. The day was unusually warm, and the ice melted so rapidly that
parts of this moraine were being sent down in frequent avalanches. The
rustle of _debris_ was almost incessant, and, ever and anon, the rustle
rose into a roar as great boulders bounded over the edge, and, after
dashing portions of the ice-cliffs into atoms, went smoking down into
the chaos below. It was just beyond this chaos that the party stood.

"Now, Antoine," said the Professor, "I want you to go to the foot of
that precipice and fix a stake in the ice there."

"Well, Monsieur, it shall be done," returned the guide, divesting
himself of his knapsack and shouldering his axe and a stake.

"Meanwhile," continued the Professor, "I will watch the falling _debris_
to warn you of danger in time, and the direction in which you must run
to avoid it. My friend Lawrence, with the aid of Captain Wopper, will
fix the theodolite on yonder rocky knoll to our left."

"Nothin' for you an' me to do," said Gillie to the artist; "p'r'aps we'd
better go and draw--eh?"

Slingsby looked at the blue spider before him with an amused smile, and
agreed that his suggestion was not a bad one, so they went off together.

While Antoine was proceeding to the foot of the ice-cliffs on his
dangerous mission, the Professor observed that the first direction of a
falling stone's bound was no sure index of its subsequent motion, as it
was sent hither and thither by the obstructions with which it met. He
therefore recalled the guide.

"It won't do, Antoine, the danger is too great."

"But, Monsieur, if it is necessary--"

"But it is not necessary that _you_ should risk your life in the pursuit
of knowledge. Besides, I must have a stake fixed half-way up the face
of that precipice."

"Ah, Monsieur," said Antoine, with an incredulous smile, "that is not
possible!"

To this the Professor made no reply, but ordered his guide to make a
detour and ascend to the upper edge of the ice-precipice for the purpose
of dislodging the larger and more dangerous blocks of stone there, and,
after that, to plant a stake on the summit.

This operation was not quickly performed. Antoine had to make a long
detour to get on the glacier, and when he did reach the moraine on the
top, he found that many of th