Part 20 (1/2)

They went on for three or four hundred yards, over what seemed to be a level plain of snow, but which they knew from what they had seen below, hung in a curve from the dazzling snow peaks on either hand, and to be gracefully rounded south and north.

So gradual was the descent that nothing was visible of the valley for which they were making; and Saxe was just about to attack the guide about his declaration respecting the short time after reaching the top of the col before they would be at tea, when Melchior suddenly stopped, and as Saxe joined him where he stood, the snow ran down suddenly, steeply, and with a beautiful curve into a tiny valley, whose floor was green, with a silver rivulet winding through it, and several clumps of dwarfed pines turning it into quite a park.

”There is our resting-place, herr,” he said, ”with a perfect bit of snow for a glissade.”

”What, slide down the snow!” cried Saxe. ”To be sure! Shall I be able to stop myself! I don't want to go rolling down into that water like a ball.”

”Come behind me,” said Dale quietly; ”I'll show you how. Stand up as I do, and hold your alpenstock behind you like this. Some people say it is wrong, but I always get on so.”

He pressed his alpenstock into the snow behind him, holding it under his left arm with both hands; and leaning back upon it, he waited till Saxe had imitated him exactly.

”If you find you are going down too fast, lean back more, so as to drive your pike down into the snow. Try and keep your balance. If you go over, hold on to your alpenstock and try to stop yourself the best way you can. Ready?”

”Yes.”

”Then off! Steady, slowly, as you can. There's no hurry.”

”Well, I don't want to hurry,” muttered Saxe, as he began to glide down the beautiful sloping curve, with the crisp large-grained snow hissing and flying down before him. It was glorious. He felt as if he were flying; then as if he were having a splendid skate without the slightest exertion. The bottom of the valley began to fly up to meet him, and he had some slight consciousness of Dale being close before or behind him, he could not tell which, for his mind was concentrated upon his descent, which grew more and more rapid and delightful. Every sense of weariness was gone, and he was just thinking of lammergeyers in their flight, when he heard his companions shouting to him, just as he lost his balance and came down on his side. Then, he lost his alpenstock and directly after his temper, as he found he was rolling down head first till he gave himself a tremendous wrench, and contrived to get his feet foremost, with his heels down in the snow, and by degrees rose into a sitting position, finis.h.i.+ng his descent more deliberately, for fortunately the slope grew less and less, till he was brought up by the stones at the foot, and able to look up.

”Hurt?” cried Dale, who came down to him directly after.

”Haven't had time to see yet,” said Saxe gruffly. ”Here are my trousers got right up my legs.”

”No skin off your knuckles?”

”I think not,” said Saxe. ”Are you all right? But what did it?”

”You.”

”No. There must have been something sticking up out of the enow to upset me: a piece of rock, I think.”

”You'll think differently after a few more tries,” said Dale, laughing; and returned to see how Melchior was getting down with the mule.

They were coming far more gently, the mule having tucked its hind legs close beneath it, and slid steadily down, while by means of his ice-axe Melchior regulated his pace to that of the quadruped, till they, too, were at the bottom.

”Saxe thinks there was a piece of rock sticking out of the snow ready to upset him,” cried Dale.

”Hus.h.!.+ Don't make him laugh at a fellow,” said the boy hurriedly.

Melchior smiled.

”It was his first lesson,” he said quietly. ”Now, there is a clump of rocks between those two patches of pines, and water and wood in abundance. Will you have the fire there?”

Half an hour after they were all seated round a crackling fire, well sheltered on all sides, and with the rock projecting far over their heads in case of rain. The kettle was singing, the coffee ready, the rest of the provisions spread, and the mule cropping the gra.s.s close by, never once trying to leave the vicinity of his human companions.

An hour after the fire was out the stars shone brilliantly, and the little party slept beneath their rugs on a couch of pine boughs as soundly as in the most luxurious couch that had fallen to their lot.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

FIRST MOUNTAIN CLIMB.