. He therefore
crossed the bergschrund, or crevasse between the glacier and the cliffs,
on a snow-bridge, faced the mountain-side once more, and, toiling
upwards, reached the summit of the pass a little before sunset.
Fortunately the weather continued fine, and the country below appeared
much less rugged than that over which he had passed, but he had not yet
got clear of difficulties. Just below him lay the longest ice-slope, or
couloir, he had hitherto encountered. The snow had been completely
swept off its surface, and it bore evidence of being the channel down
which rushed the boulders and obelisks of ice that strewed the plain
below. To reach that plain by any other route would have involved a
circuit of unknown extent. The risk was great but the danger of delay
was greater. He swung the heavy axe round his head, and began at once
the tedious process of cutting steps. Being an apt scholar, he had
profited well from the lessons taught by Le Croix and others. Quick,
yet measured and firm, was each stroke. A forced calmness rested on his
face, for, while the ice-blocks above, apparently nodding to their fall,
warned him to make haste, the fear of slipping a foot, or losing
balance, compelled him to be very cautious. In such a case, a rope
round the waist and a friend above would have been of inestimable value.

When about two-thirds of the way down, the exhausted youth was forced to
stop for a few seconds to rest. Just then several pieces of ice, the
size of a man's head, rushed down the couloir and dashed close past him.
They served to show the usual direction of an avalanche. Fearing they
were the prelude to something worse, he quickly cut his way to the side
of the couloir. He was not a moment too soon. Glancing up in alarm, he
saw the foundations of one of the largest ice-masses give way. The top
bent over slowly at first, then fell forward with a crash and broke into
smaller fragments, which dashed like lightning down the slope, leaping
from side to side, and carrying huge rocks and masses of _debris_ to the
plain with horrible din.

Poor Lewis felt his spirit and his body shrink. He had, however, chosen
his position well. Nothing save a cloud of dust and snow reached him,
but the part of the slope down which he had passed was swept clean as
with the besom of destruction. It was an awful ordeal for one so young
and inexperienced, for the risk had to be encountered again. "The
sooner the better,