sly painted faces, knew every foot of the way, and made
rapid progress, and it was all the others could do at times to keep up.

By ten o'clock it began to grow colder, and even the boys could feel the
crust of snow on which they were trudging becoming firmer beneath their
feet. It was far from dark, a pale glimmer of light hanging on every
mountain top. But now the trail became suddenly steeper, and they found
themselves going straight up the side of a hill several hundred feet
high.

"Plant your feet firmly at every step," were Foster Portney's words of
caution. "And remember, looking back will do you no good."

This last warning was for Randy's benefit, for the lad had just looked
back and shivered over the awful descent below him. A fall would mean a
long roll, and a broken neck over a cliff below.

Captain Zoss had gone on ahead with the Indians and just before midnight
he came back with a warning to watch out for several splits, or
crevasses, in the glaciers they were now traversing.

"Salmon Head says he heard a report of several new ones just before
starting, and these are as yet unmarked," he said.

"We'll be as careful as we can," said Dr. Barwaithe. "We can do no
more."

They now passed over a broad plain of snow where the mists hung more
thickly than ever. They had almost reached the centre of the plain when
a loud cry from the Indians ahead caused them to halt.

"What can be the meaning of that?" questioned Earl. "Can they be in
trouble?"

Presently, from among the mists appeared the form of one of the Indian
carriers, without his bundle. He soon explained in broken English that
he had been sent back by Salmon Head to warn them of a split in the ice
field just ahead. One of the Indian women had slipped in, and it was by
mere good fortune that some of the men had rescued her.

This Indian remained with them until the crack was reached, where he
resumed his pack and went on. The opening was an irregular one, from
four to eight feet wide and of unfathomable depth. Fortunately the sides
were well defined and firm, so they had small trouble in leaping
across.

"It was good of them to send a man back," said the doctor, as he paused
to peer down into the crevasse. "Had we not been warned we might have
slipped into that without knowing it."

The trail now wound in and out among a number of small hills, and once
again the party ahead was lost to sight. With the increasing cold came a
stiff wind throug