Part 11 (1/2)

He did not need to point out the spot The eyes of Caspar and Ossaroo were already turned upon it--Away down the ravine as far as they could see the surface of the glacier appeared in e blocks of ice were thrown to the top and rolled over, with a ru and cruainst the faces of the cliffs A cloud of snow-spray, rising like a thick white mist, filled the whole ravine--as if to conceal the work of ruin that was going on--and underneath this ghostly veil, the crushi+ng and tearing for some moments continued Then all at once the fearful noises ceased, and only the screa of beasts, disturbed the silence of the place

Pale, shuddering, almost paralysed by fear, the hunters had thrown the everyto sink beneath the surface, or be crushed a as the dread sounds echoed in their ears, their hearts were filled with consternation, and long after the crashi+ng and crackling ceased, they remained the victims of a terrible suspense; but they felt that that portion of the glacier upon which they were did not move It still remained firm; would it continue so?

They knew not thedoard, and bury them under its masses, or crush theht was fearful It had paralysed them for a moment; and for some time after the noises had ceased, they remained silent and motionless Indeed, absurd as it may seeht disturb the icy !

Reflection soon came to their aid It would never do to reer Whither could they retreat? Up the ravine ht be safer? Above them the ice had not yet stirred The ruin had all been below--below the crevasse they had just crossed

Perhaps the rocks would afford a footing? They would not lacier should give way; but was there footing to be found upon the the nearest cliff It offered but little hope Yes--upon closer inspection there was a ledge--a very narrow one, but yet capable of giving refuge to two or three men; and, above all, it was easy of access It would serve their purpose

Like et out of the way of soe; and after soainst the cliff, they found the-room they had Had there been a fourth, the place would not have accoh for the three side by side, and standing erect

Se It was the solid granite, and not the fickle ice It looked eternal as the hills; and, standing upon it, they breathed freely

But the danger was not over, and their apprehensions were still keen

Should the upper part of the glacier give hat then? Although it could not reach theht sink far below its present level, and leave thee on the face of a black precipice!

Even if the upper ice held firht that now troubled thelacier slide_-- a phenomenon that few mortals have witnessed He suspected that the slide had taken place in that portion of the glacier below the crevasse they had just crossed If so, the lye would be widened, the huge gneiss rock that bridged it gone, and their _retreat down the glacier cut off_!

Upward they beheld nothing but the beetling cliffs ether No human foot could scale theht the jesting allusion of Caspar be realised They ranite, with nought but ice for their bed, and the sky for their ceiling It was a fearful supposition, but all three did not fail to entertain it

As yet they could not tell whether their retreat doards was in reality cut off Where they stood an abutment of the cliff hid the ravine below They had rushed to their present position, with the first instinct of preservation In their flight, they had not thought of looking either toward the crevasse or the gneiss rock--Other large boulders intervened, and they had not observed whether it was gone

They tre

The hours passed; and still they dared not descend to the glacier

Night caered, but it would have been of no use to go down to the cold icy surface That would not have satisfied their appetite

All night long they ree; now on one foot, now on the other, now resting their backs against the granite wall, but all night, without closing an eye in sleep The dread of the capricious ice kept theer With the first light of

The ice had reht No farther noises had been heard They gradually recovered confidence; and as soon as the day began to break, all three left the ledge, and betook thelacier

At first they kept close to the cliff; but, after a while, ventured out far enough to get a view of the ravine below

Caspar mounted upon a rocky boulder that lay upon the surface of the glacier From the top of this he could see over the others _The crevasse was one_!

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

THE Pass

The philosophy of the laciers is but ill understood, even by the ists It is supposed that the under surface of these great icy round by the thahich continually takes place there, caused by the radiating heat of the earth Water is also an agent in loosening their hold; for it is well-known that currents of water--solaciers The icyon an inclined surface, is carried down by its oeight

So a fissure above the part that has given way; and at other ti of that portion next above them

An unusually hot sulacier ice, co of avalanches, or ht, serve to iht of our three hunters was but as a feather, and could have had no effect in giving neiss rock was just upon the balance when they crossed it Thawed around its surface, it had no cohesion with the ice on which it rested; and, as a feather turns the scale, their crossing upon it may have produced a motion, which resulted in its fall