perhaps, when you come back,"
replied Walter. "It is a secret at present."

"Aha! I understand. You have discovered the track of a chamois, and are
going to take the gentleman to see if he can get a shot at it. He seems
quite mad upon hunting, and I dare say you will get a five-franc piece
if you help him."

"Very likely, Mohrle," replied the youth, with a laugh; and then bowed
to the gentleman, who stood at a window of the inn surveying the lively
scene below. Opening the window, he beckoned to the boy, who bowed
again, and went into the house.

"He is a sharp boy," said the guide to one of his companions. "There are
not many lads in the Oberland who are as bold and active in climbing as
he is. And no one can beat him for deer-stalking. But it's no wonder,
for Toni Hirzel, his father, is the best chamois-hunter in this part of
the country."

"Yes, he is a brave fellow," was the reply. "I know his father well.
There isn't a cleverer sportsman in the mountains; but it's a dangerous
life, and I shouldn't like to change places with him. It is much more
comfortable to show strangers the sights; there is less peril and a
great deal more profit in it."

"And yet I would wager anything that Toni wouldn't change places with
us," replied the first speaker. "He told me only a week ago that it was
impossible to give up the hunting life. 'My father and grandfather both
lost their lives by it,' said he, 'and I know I sha'n't fare any better;
but whenever I see the track of a chamois, I must be off after it.' That
is the way with all your chamois-hunters."

"Well, may God long preserve him from such an awful death!" said the
other. "But there comes our party. Look after your horse, Mohrle."

The conversation was thus abruptly cut short. The ladies and gentlemen
mounted the animals that were waiting for them, and in a few minutes the
space in front of the inn was cleared of the busy throng.

"Now, then," said the young Scotchman, whose attention had been occupied
with the company which had just left, and who now turned to Walter.
"Has your father discovered some new tracks, and sent you to tell me?"

"No, Sir. I have come to ask you if you were in earnest the other day,
and if you really wish to have a vulture's brood."

"A vulture's brood, boy?" inquired the Scotchman, with eager and
sparkling eyes. "Have you discovered one?"

"Yes, Sir," replied the youth. "I have clambered up among the wild
ravines of the Engelhorn for