Part 19 (1/2)

”You bet I will,” Joe replied, turning red over his fire. It certainly was almost like being home to have some one like Lucy Elkins be so interested in him, and kindly and sweet. The fire was very smoky, and got into Joe's eyes, and he had to wipe them--but Lucy did not see, or, if she did, she pretended not to.

”Well,” said Mills, after breakfast, ”everybody pack. We've got a long day ahead of us, if we stop any time to see the sights.”

”And where are we going?” somebody asked.

”Over Gunsight Pa.s.s, and down to Lake McDonald,” the Ranger answered, pointing up to the Great Divide at the head of Gunsight Lake.

”Do you mean to tell me we are going over that place?” demanded Mrs.

Jones.

”Why not?” said Mills.

”Why not? Well, I'm not one of these Rocky Mountain goats I hear about.”

”Your horse is,” the Ranger laughed.

As soon as camp was struck, and the horses brought from the upper meadows, where they had wandered in the night, and packed, the party started up the trail.

”Gunsight Pa.s.s--I like that name,” said Bob. ”But how did it get the name?”

”You'll see when we reach it,” Mills replied.

The trail over Gunsight is one of the most interesting in the entire Park. The head wall of the horseshoe of rocks which holds the green lake is too steep to climb, so the path gets to the summit by working up the shoulder of Jackson, in a long series of inclines, with sharp, steep switchbacks every little way, to boost it a little higher up the steep slope.

After climbing for, perhaps, two miles, they reached what appeared to be the level of the Divide ahead of them, but they were still around on one side of the horseshoe, and had to make their way along the tremendously steep wall of the mountain till they got to the pa.s.s at the centre.

Between them and this pa.s.s lay a huge snow-field, two hundred yards wide, and extending half a mile up the slope, and as far down, and ending at the bottom right on the top of a precipice, which dropped off into the lake. They could hear the melting water from this snow-field falling down far, far below, over the precipice.

Mills stopped his horse, and studied the ground, while the two women looked at the steep, gleaming, slippery field of snow, steeper than a house roof, at the yawning hole at the bottom, and declared in loud tones that they would _not_ go across.

But other parties had been across, and somebody had shoveled out a path, about three feet wide, to make level footing for the horses. Still, even so, it was a ticklish place, for if a horse once slid off, there would be no stopping him short of the lake two thousand feet below.

”Everybody off!” Mills ordered.

”Joe, d.i.c.k, Val,” he commanded, ”lead all the horses over, one at a time, and then two of you come back.”

After the horses were across--and they did not have the least fear, even when one of their feet would cut through the soft snow, and they appeared to be in danger of slipping--Joe and d.i.c.k returned, and, with Mills, led the two women and the girls over, and helped them back into their saddles. Bob and the two congressmen came alone, and in the centre of the slide, Bob made a big s...o...b..ll, and let it roll down. Inside of a hundred feet it appeared to be traveling a mile a minute, growing bigger all the time, and finally it hit a rock at the bottom with a loud report, and the broken pieces flew out over the hole below.

”Say, Joe,” he called, ”great place for skis, eh?”

Joe laughed, but not very mirthfully. The thought of going down that slope on skis made you sick in the pit of your stomach.

It was but a few steps now, around a hanging ledge, to the pa.s.s, and as they came out into the small level s.p.a.ce on top of the Divide, they saw in front of them, forming the northern gate-post of the pa.s.s, as it were, a big rock pile shaped exactly like the front sight of a rifle--a sight several hundred feet high.

”Now you see why it's Gunsight Pa.s.s,” said Mills to Bob.

”Some gun!” the boy answered.

Those ahead moved to the western side of the Divide, and suddenly Joe heard the girls screaming with delight. As soon as he got there, he realized why, for never before had he seen anywhere such a wonderful view.