The Crystal Hunters: A Boy's Adventures in the Higher Alps

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.

  AN EXPEDITION.

  There was no doubt about Melchior's willingness to make a fresh startthat day; but none was made, Dale being of the opinion that a quiet restin the neighbourhood of the camp would be of advantage to all concerned.

  "Rest our bodies and our nerves too, Saxe," he said. "I am prettystrong in mind and muscle, but yesterday's business shook me in both. Ican see it all constantly; and as for my arms, the strain upon them wasterrific."

  "The herr is stopping about the tent to-day," said Melchior to Saxe thefirst time he could get him alone, "because he thinks I am too weak togo forward, and because he does not trust me as he did before. It iscruel of him, and he is mistaken. I had an accident, of course; but sodo the best guides upon the mountains have accidents."

  "You are quite wrong," replied Saxe, and he repeated all that Dale hadsaid; but the guide did not seem to be satisfied, for he shook his headsolemnly, and went about smoking his big pipe, looking despondent in theextreme; while the others spent the morning chipping the stones insearch of minerals that might prove interesting, and of the variousAlpine plants that luxuriated in the sheltered corners and ravinesfacing the south.

  They had been collecting for some little time, when Saxe suddenlyexclaimed--

  "Well, I am disappointed!"

  "What, at not going on some wild expedition to-day?"

  "No: with these stones and flowers."

  "Why?" said Dale.

  "Because there's nothing fresh. I've seen plants like that in Cornwall,and limestone like that in Yorkshire."

  "Not exactly like it, boy; say similar."

  "Well, granite and limestone, then."

  "So you would, my lad, all over the world--Asia, Africa or America."

  "But I expected something so different; and I thought we were going toget magnificent great crystals, and I haven't seen any yet."

  "Did you expect to see them tumbling about anywhere on the mountainside, sir?"

  "I thought they would be plentiful."

  "I did not. I fully expected that we should have a good deal ofdifficulty in finding them. If they were easily found, they would becommon and of no value. Wait a bit, and I dare say we shall discover acrystal cavern yet."

  "Well, then, the flowers and moss: I expected to find all kinds of freshthings."

  "Did you?"

  "Yes, of course--all foreign. Why, look at those! I've seen lots ofthem at home in gardens."

  "Gentians? Oh yes."

  "And that patch of old monkshood," Saxe continued, pointing to a slopedotted with the dark blue flowers of the aconite. "Why, you can seethat in nearly every cottage garden at home. Here's another plant,too--I don't know its name."

  "Centaurea."

  "You can see that everywhere; and these bluebell-harebell-campanulathings, and the dandelion blossoms, and the whortleberry and hogweed andwild parsley stuff: you see them all at home."

  "Anything else?"

  "Oh yes: the fir trees down below, and the ash and birch and oak andwillow, and all the rest of it. I thought all the trees and flowerswould be foreign; and there's nothing strange about them anywhere, onlythat they grow close to the ice."

  "Humph!" ejaculated Dale, as he pressed an orange hawkweed between twopieces of paper; "has it never occurred to your wise young head thatthese things are common at home because they have been brought fromplaces like this?"

  "Eh?"

  "Have you not heard about Alpine plants?"

  "Oh yes. Aunt Ellen has lots in her garden, I know, because they are solike my name--Saxe something."

  "Saxifrages. There are any number of them about here, from some so tinyyou can hardly see them to others with great bell flowers and broadleaves. I'm afraid if you went to the tropics Saxe, you would findfault with the plants there, because you had seen so many of them athome in England. Now, let's sit down and rest here, and look at themountains! I never tire of watching their snow peaks, ridges andhollows, with their dazzling snow."

  "Yes, it's very beautiful; but I want to climb up some more of them."

  "In spite of the risks?"

  "Oh, we must be more careful, and pick fine days."

  Dale smiled.

  "You must have a chat with Melchior about that. Do you know that isalmost impossible to pick what you call a fine day?"

  "No," said Saxe. "I should not have thought it was. Why can't youchoose one?"

  "Because the higher you are up the more risk there is of change. Now,look here: what sort of a day would you call this?"

  "Surely just the day for ascending a peak."

  "Yes, I knew you would say that; but look up yonder," and he pointedtoward the summit of the highest mountain near.

  "Yes, I can see. What a lovely slope of snow, with a few cloudsfloating by!"

  "To us, Saxe; but if we were up there, we should be in a mist, with theweather intensely cold and a wind blowing so hard that it would beunsafe to climb."

  "What, up there?--now?" cried Saxe wonderingly.

  "Yes, up there now. I have often known men ascend mountains on whatseemed to be glorious days, and there was only a fine filmy veil to beseen floating round the higher parts--just enough to hide them perhapsfor an hour together; but when they came down to the little hotel in thevalley, they had a long tale to tell us of having been frostbitten whileclinging to the snow slopes and ice-covered rocks, not daring to ventureup or down on account of the tremendous, tempestuous wind blowing."

  "I say, look here!" cried Saxe, pointing to another peak from whichlovely, silvery streamers of cloud spread out: "you don't mean to saythat there's bad weather up there now?"

  "Indeed, but I do; and if you asked Melchior he would--"

  "Hi! Melk!" cried Saxe, as the man came slowly up after them, "whatsort of weather is it up there now?"

  "Terrible, herr," replied the man, shading his eyes. "The snow must befalling heavily, and a wind raging fierce enough to tear any man fromhis hold."

  "Well!" ejaculated Saxe, "I am puzzled. Why, the weather looksglorious--like summer!"

  "But you forget that if you only go high enough up it is eternal winter.The tops of those mountains are in the midst of never-failing snow,which is gradually compressed into ice and--"

  "Would the herr like to go to the foot of the glacier and examine theice grotto?"

  "We did do that in the other valley."

  "But this is a larger cave, herr; and besides, it is the entrance to theone where I journeyed down."

  "Can't you settle yourself for a quiet day, Melchior?" said Dale,smiling.

  "No, herr; I do not seem to be earning my money. It will be a very easywalk, and we can take the lanthorn and another candle; besides, it isquite fresh. I do not think any one has ever been in it but me."

  "What do you say, Saxe?"

  "That I should like to go," cried the lad eagerly; for half a day ofcomparative inaction had been sufficient to weary him, surrounded as hewas by such a region of enchantment, where, turn which way he would,there was some temptation to explore.

  "I am in the minority," said Dale, smiling; "but I mean to have my ownway. No: I shall keep to my previous arrangements. To-day we willrest. To-morrow, if the weather is good, I'm going up to the bare faceof that mountain on the other side of the glacier."

  "The Bergstock," said Melchior. "Yes, it is one of the places I mean totake you to, herr; for the gletscher winds round behind it, and I hopeyou will find what you want there."

  "I'm not half so eager to find crystals now, Melk," said Saxe thatevening, as he sat beside the guide, glad that the day of inaction wasat an end.

  "Why so?" asked Melchior.

  "Because we don't find any, I suppose."

  "But when we do the young herr will be as eager as ever."

  "Oh!"

  "Is the young herr in pain?"

  "No: only when I move. My arms are so stiff. I say, don't you feel abit sore from your work yesterday?"

&nb
sp; "Oh yes, herr," said the guide, smiling; "but the best way to ease painslike those is not to think about them."

  "I dare say it is," grumbled Saxe; "but it seems to me that it would beeasier to bear the pain. I couldn't forget a thing that's alwaysreminding you that you are sore. But there, I am glad it's to-night. Ishall go to roost in good time, so as to get a fine long sleep."

  Saxe kept his word, and he slept soundly, only waking once when the muleuttered one of its peculiar squeals. But no one was sufficientlyalarmed to get up, and the incident was forgotten next morning, when oneof many days of an uneventful nature commenced, during which the partymade excursions in different directions: into the ice grotto; across theglacier to the Bergstock; up to first one and then another snowfield,and among magnificent views in all directions, and under endlessatmospheric changes such as gave constant variety to the surroundings.And every night Saxe confided to Melchior that he was tired of it all,and every morning was refreshed and ready for fresh action.

  The perils of the crevasse adventure were almost forgotten; but itseemed to the boy that Dale shrank from going into any fresh danger, andthis troubled him.

  "I suppose Mr Dale thinks I behaved badly, and was too young," he said."But only let me have a chance, and I'll show him I am not such acoward as he thinks."

  Then came the evening when Melchior announced that the food supply mustbe renewed by a long journey to Andregg's chalet, for bread and coffeeand butter could not be easily obtained, like wood.

  "Will the herr come back with me, or shall I go alone?"

  "Go alone, Melchior, and be as quick back as you can."

  The next morning when they woke the guide and the mule were gone,probably having started at the first faint dawn.

  "Are you going to wait about the tent till he comes back, sir?" saidSaxe, as they sat over the breakfast they had prepared.

  "No: we will have two or three little excursions of our own, just up toand along the edge of the snow-line; but to-day I should like to visitthe glacier again, and see those two crevasses coolly."

  An hour after they were well on their way, knowledge having made thetask comparatively easy. But it was rather a risky journey, before theyhad arrived at the spot which was pretty deeply impressed upon theirminds: for every now and then some mass of worn ice fell crashing down,and raised the echoes of the narrow valley, while a cool wind seemed tohave been set free by the fall, and went sighing down the gorge.

  They were prepared to find the lower crevasse, from which they hadrecovered Melchior, much less terrible by daylight. To their surprise,it was far more vast and grand, and as they advanced cautiously to theedge and peered down into the blue depths, they both drew breath andgazed at each other with a peculiarly inquiring look.

  There were the notches Saxe had cut, but partly melted down by theaction of the sun; there, too, were the holes chipped out and used toanchor the ice-axe; and then, as if fascinated by the place, Saxeadvanced again to the edge.

  "Take care!" said Dale warningly.

  "Yes. I only want to see if I can make out the slope up which heclimbed."

  The boy lay down upon his chest and peered over, but gave quite a startdirectly, as he felt himself touched.

  "I was only hooking you by the belt, my lad," said Dale, who had pushedthe head of his axe through the boy's belt. "You can do the same for meanother time."

  Saxe flushed a little, and looked down again, feeling that Dale wastreating him as if he were a child.

  "Well," said his companion, "can you see the slope?"

  "No: nothing but the blue darkness--nothing."

  He drew himself away.

  "It's a horrible place," he said.

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Only send a big lump of ice down."

  "I suppose that comes natural to all of us," said Dale, smiling, andhelping the lad turn over a huge block broken from one of the shatteredseracs. "I never knew any one yet who did not want to send somethingdown every hole he saw, even if it was a well."

  The block they turned over was roughly cylindrical, and turned overpretty readily upon their using their axe handles as levers, and at lastthey had it close to the brink of the awful chasm, and paused for a fewmoments.

  "No fear of its hurting any one--eh, Saxe?" said Dale; but he spokeseriously, for the terrible nature of the place impressed him, andbefore going farther the two again peered down into the awful gulf.

  The effect was the same on each--a peculiar shrinking, as the thoughtcame--"Suppose I were to fall?"

  "Well, Saxe," said Dale, "shall we push the piece down?"

  Saxe nodded, and placed the handle of his axe under the block. Dale didthe same. They raised their hands together, and the great block wentover and dropped out of sight, while they stood listening and waitingfor the heavy bellowing crash, which seemed as if it would never come,and then far exceeded in violence anything they had imagined.

  "It isn't stupid is it, to feel a bit frightened of such a place?" saidSaxe, with his face all in wrinkles.

  "I should say the person must be very dense and stupid who is notfrightened of such an awful place. Here, let's get on: it seems ratherwaste of time to spend it going to these crevasses again; but it isinteresting all the same."

  They started upward now, and went nearly exactly over the same ground asbefore, till the upper crevasse was reached; and after going through thesame performance of sending down a block of ice, Dale suggested that asit would be unwise to go farther up the glacier, here covered with snow,without the help of the guide, they should make for the side of thegorge, and at the first opening climb up and make their way over thelower slopes of the mountain, and so back to camp.