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

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

  A GRAVE PERIL.

  "Then we must get back at once. But the mule?"

  "We cannot move him, herr. It is impossible to do anything, and he muststay. The water may not rise high enough to take him off his legs. Ifit does he must go down with the stream and get out himself belowyonder. I would say stay, but if the water rises to our waists, weshould not be able to stand against the stream."

  "Try the mule once more," said Dale. "We may get through."

  The guide waded carefully back along the ledge-like path, and they coulddimly see him patting and coaxing the beast, but with no effectwhatever; and they stood there impatiently waiting till he returned tothem, but not before both Dale and Saxe were painfully aware that thewater was slowly creeping up toward their knees and the position growingperilous.

  "It is useless, herr," cried Melchior, as he rejoined them. "You willlead back, sir; but wait a minute,--we will have the rope."

  He took it from his shoulder and rapidly passed one end to Dale, whoknotted it about his waist, while the middle was once more tied roundSaxe, and finally the other end to the guide, who then made a sign, andDale began to retrace his steps toward the lower mouth of the gorge.

  Even in that little time the difference in the level of the water wasvery evident; and as Saxe waded along, with the stream rushing by himand seeming to give him quite a series of pushes, he could not help anexcited feeling of dread filling his breast, and he wondered whether heshould get out of the place alive if some sudden rush of water came downin a wave and swept them off the ledge.

  It was slow work for a few minutes, till the path rose once more, andthen they progressed pretty quickly till the shelf ran down again; andas Saxe went on through the gloom, feeling that the rope was kept fairlytaut, another sharp bend was turned, and they came in view of the facingwall of rock, against which the stream rushed and rose up now in such abody that Melchior raised his voice loudly:

  "Stop, herr!" he cried: "don't try to pass."

  "No," said Dale, as Saxe and the guide closed up, "the water hasincreased there terribly. We should be swept away."

  "Then we're shut in!" cried Saxe.

  "Yes, herr; but only for a time. The waters rise quickly and fall asquickly in the schluchts. Let's get back to the highest part, where wecan be dry. If we could only have reached farther on!"

  He said no more, for it was hard work to make the voice heard in themidst of this terrific reverberating war of the fierce waters, but heturned and led the way back round the corner they had so lately passed,to where the ledge was fully four feet above the stream.

  Here he calmly seated himself on the damp stone, with his legs hangingdown toward the dark rushing water, took out and filled his great pipe,and then looked up at his companions, as if inviting them to be seatedtoo.

  There was but little temptation to follow his example, and sit down onthe humid rock; but it offered rest, poor as it was, and Saxe and Daleboth followed the example set them, while Melchior calmly lit his pipeand began to smoke and wait patiently for the water to go down.

  But Saxe's nature was too impatient for this, and before he had beenseated there many minutes he began to strain his neck in looking up toright and left.

  Melchior leaned over to him and shouted in his ear, he having divinedthe boy's thoughts from his actions.

  "No, herr, no--not here. There is one place where, with a hammer andplenty of iron spikes to drive in the cracks of the rock, we mightperhaps get to the top; but it would be impossible without. We shouldwant ten times as much rope too."

  "Is the water going down now?" shouted back Saxe, after a pause.

  Melchior looked down and shook his head.

  "Will it come with a sudden rush, like a river?"

  "Oh no. It may rise very quickly, but not all at once. Of course itall comes from the lake, and the waters of the lake swell from hundredsof streams and falls. No, herr, it will not come down with a rush."

  "But it is rising very fast," said Dale, who had caught part of theirconversation. "Are we on the highest part that we can reach!"

  "Yes, herr; and I am sorry I have brought you in. I try to be a perfectguide, but there is no such thing. I ought to have been prepared foranother rise after the storm we had. Forgive me."

  "You think, then, that the water will come up above where we aresitting."

  The guide nodded, and pointed to a dimly-seen mark upon the wall, quitelevel with their heads.

  "Then we must find some other ledge upon which we can stand," criedDale, rising to his feet.

  Melchior shook his head. "There is none," he said.

  "You have not looked."

  "Herr, I searched the wall with my eyes as we went and returned. Aguide studies the places he passes, and learns them by heart, so thatthey may be useful at some time, should he want them. Look above you:the wall hangs over all the way. Nothing but a fly could stand anywherealong here."

  It was undeniable, as Dale could see; and he leaned back against therock and folded his arms, gazing down sternly at the rising water, tillthe guide spoke again, as he finished his pipe, knocked out the ashes,and replaced it in his breast.

  "It would be wise to take off the rope," he said quietly.

  "Why?" cried Saxe excitedly.

  "Because, if we are swept down with the stream, it would be in our way--perhaps catch in some rock below, or tangle round our legs and arms."

  "You feel, then," cried Dale, "that there is no hope of the waters goingdown, and that we shall soon have a chance to get through?"

  Saxe, whose brain had been full of horrors suggested by the guide's lastwords--words which had called up visions of unfortunate people vainlystruggling to reach the surface beyond the reach of the stranglingwater, but held down by that terrible rope--now sat listening eagerlyfor Melchior's next utterance, as the man began deliberately unfasteningthe rope.

  "I can say nothing for certain, herr," he replied. "We are in the handsof the great God, whose children we are, and we must be patient andwait. I hope we shall get out safely,--perhaps I think we shall--but itis our duty to be ready. The young herr swims, I know, and so do you,herr; but if we have to make for the lower end of the schlucht, try andremember this: Don't struggle to get to the surface, for it is waste ofstrength. You cannot swim properly in this water, for all torrents arefull of bubbles of air, and these do not bear one up like still water.What you must do is, to get a fresh breath now and then, and let thestream carry you along."

  Saxe looked horrified, and the guide interpreted his thoughts.

  "You will easily do it. The stream is swifter now than when I wentthrough, and I had all the distance to journey. You will only havehalf. It looks very horrible, but after the first plunge you do notmind. Now, herr, let me untie you."

  He turned to Saxe, who submitted to the operation without a word, andthen watched the guide as he carefully laid up the rope in rings uponhis left arm. Meanwhile, Dale had unfastened his end, and stood waitingto hand it to the guide, who secured it round the coil before hanging itacross his breast.

  He then carefully examined the level of the water by bending downwardand noting where it now ran against a crack in the rock.

  "Sinking?" cried Saxe eagerly.

  "Rising," replied the guide laconically.

  Then there was a long silence, during which Saxe, as if doubting thatthe guide was right, carefully examined the walls of the chasm, butalways with the same result: he could see rifts and places in plentywhere he could have climbed high enough to be beyond reach of the watereven if it rose thirty or forty feet; but they were all on the otherside, which was slightly convex, while their side, as the guide hadpointed out, was concave, and would have matched exactly if the sideshad been driven together.

  "No, herr," said Melchior quietly, "I should not have stopped so stillif there had been a chance to get away. I should like to say one thingmore about the water rising: if we are swept down, try both of yo
u notto cling to each other or me for help. One is quite useless at such atime, and we should only exhaust each other."

  Dale nodded, and Saxe felt as if one prop which held him to existencehad been suddenly struck away.

  There was another dreary pause, during which they listened to thewaters' roar; and Melchior bent down again, and rose to his feet oncemore, with his brow rugged.

  "Rising," he said hoarsely; and then he leaned back against the rockwith his arms crossed and his eyes half-closed, silent as hiscompanions, for talking was painfully laborious at such a time.

  An hour must have passed, and every time Melchior bent down he rose withthe same stern look upon his countenance, the darkness making itheavier-looking and more weird. Both Saxe and Dale could see thedifference plainly now, for it must have been a foot higher at least,and they knew it was only a matter of time before it would reach theirfeet.

  And as Saxe stood there, miserably dejected, he began thinking andpicturing to himself the snow melting and trickling down thousands oftiny cracks which netted the tops of the mountains, and then joinedtogether in greater veins, and these again in greater, till they formedrushing streams, and lastly rivers, which thundered into the lake.

  Then he began thinking of his school-days, and then of his life at home,and the intense delight he had felt at the prospect of coming out to theAlps with Dale, the pleasures he had anticipated, and how lightly he hadtreated all allusions to danger.

  "I'll be careful," he had said: "I can take care of myself." And as herecalled all this, he dolefully asked himself how he could be careful ata time like this.

  He was in the midst of these musings when Melchior bent down again, androse once more so quickly, that Dale shouted to him.

  "Rising? Shall we jump in and swim for it at once."

  "No, herr; we must wait."

  "Ah! look--look!" cried Saxe, pointing downward.

  "Yes, yes: what?" cried the others in a breath.

  "The poor mule--the poor mule!"

  "What?"

  "I saw it roll over. Its leg came out, and then I saw its back for amoment, and it was gone."

  "Poor old Gros!" cried Melchior; and he hurried along the shelf as faras he could go, and knelt down.

  He soon returned, looking very sad.

  "I just caught a glint of its back in the water, and it was gone. Poorbeast!" he said; "he did not seem to be struggling. I'm afraid he isgone."

  This was a bad omen, and Dale looked very hard, and then Melchior oncemore went down on his knees and peered into the stream, to measure itwith his eyes.

  "Hah!" he exclaimed, as he got up and began to fumble for his pipe andmatches.

  "Risen much?" Dale's eyes said, as he turned them upon the guide.

  "No, herr. Heaven be praised! The water is down a hand's breadth sinceI looked last. It is falling fast."

  Dale turned sharply round and caught Saxe's hand, wringing it so hardthat he gave him pain. Then, extending his hand to Melchior, the guidetook it and held it for a few moments in silence.

  "Yes, herr," he said cheerily; then, "I dare say we shall be through inan hour. The waters flow swiftly, and once the flood is passed the lakesoon gets down again. But I'm sorry poor old Gros is gone."

  "I will pay Andregg handsomely for his loss," said Dale quickly; but theguide shook his head.

  "No money will pay for the loss of old friends, herr. Gros has beenlooked upon as a companion by Andregg for these many years. It will bea bitter thing to go and say he is dead."

  He was silent for a few minutes. Then, raising his voice, he saidloudly:

  "It seems strange to you English gentlemen; but you come from greatcities where people are many, and you can hardly count your friends.Out here in the deep thals, where men are shut up by the snow for weekstogether, with only their cows and mules and goats, they grow to lookupon the animals about them as friends, just as the poor animalsthemselves look to their masters for their care, and run to them forhelp and shelter when the great storms come down. Why, herr, you haveseen they live in part of the house. The chalet is built up with a warmshelter beneath for the little flock or herd. Poor Gros! Andregg willnearly break his heart; and," added the guide simply, "he will not evenhave the consolation of saving the skin."

  This last notion, in the reaction he felt, sounded so droll to Saxe thathe turned away his head for fear the guide should see him smile.

  But Melchior saw nothing; and stooping down again, he rose.

  "Going down very fast, herr. In another hour I think we may venture tostart again."

  The torrent tore along so furiously that in the time specified thelittle party made a start, and then paused again as they reached theplace where the ledge descended into the water. For the stream rushedalong heavily as Melchior began to wade; and he once more uncoiled andpassed the rope.

  "It is heavy going," he shouted; "but every minute it will be better,for after a little while the path rises quite high."

  They started again, and Saxe felt his heart beat heavily as the waterrose to his knees and he could feel its soft strong push against him;but he forgot all this the next moment, on hearing Melchior give vent tohis feelings in a long, loud jodel, which sounded strange enough in theawful rift, with an accompaniment of the noise of rushing waters, butnot half so strange as the curious whinnying half-squeal, half-neigh,that came back from a little way ahead.

  For there, dimly-seen, was the mule, standing just as they had left him;and as they approached he signified his joy by a very near approach to abray.

  "And you said you saw him swept by!" cried Dale.

  "I saw a leg and a bit of back," said Melchior; "but it might havebelonged to any poor drowned beast swept out of the lake. Why, Gros!old Gros!" he cried, wading up to the mule, "this is the grandest sightI've had these many days!" while the mule literally squealed andstamped, sending the water flying in its delight at hearing human voicesagain.

  But a good hour passed before the cautious animal--as if assured by itsown instinct that the way was safe--began to advance, and in a shorttime was upon the clear ledge, trudging steadily along, Melchiorfollowing with his load, till the bright daylight was seen ahead, andthey came to a halt on the platform whence Gros had fallen and draggedin his leader.

  The rest of the journey was easily performed, Gros bearing his lightenedload on along the edge of the lake, and past the place where Dale hadsearched for gold, till the vale at the foot of the great glacier wasneared, when the mule set up a loud squealing, which was answered by thedonkey's bray and a lowing from the cows.

  Then Melchior jodelled, and it was responded to from the chalet, whereAndregg, his wife, and Pierre were standing watching, and ready toprepare a comfortable meal and usher Gros into the shelter in the lowerpart of the place.

  In another hour Saxe was lying upon his bed of sweet-scented hay halfasleep, thinking of all he had gone through since he last lay there, andready to ask himself whether it was not all a dream. Then suddenlyconsciousness failed, and he was really in the land of dreams.