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

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER FORTY.

  IN THE ICE-CAVE.

  The sun was shining brightly on as lovely a morning as had fallen totheir lot since they had been in the Alps; and upon Saxe springing up,his first act was to go up to the spring for his morning wash, and alsoto look at the stone which had so strongly resembled a head.

  There was the clear basin from which he had drunk, and there were theplaces where he had rested his hands; but there was no stone that couldby any possibility have looked like a head even in the darkness, and hereturned at last to the tent feeling strangely uncomfortable, and in nogood condition for his breakfast.

  "Come, Saxe," cried Dale, as he sat eating his bread and fried bacon."Didn't you sleep well? Not unwell, are you?"

  "I? No--oh no! Why?"

  "Because you are making a very poor meal, and it will be many hoursbefore we eat again."

  Saxe went on with his breakfast; but somehow he did not enjoy it, andhis thoughts were either occupied with the terrible face which stood outclear before him as he had seen it the previous night, or he was askinghimself whether he should not take Melchior into his confidence, and askhim his opinion about what he had seen.

  "I shall not want to stop here to-night," he said to himself. "It istoo horrible to feel that a hideous creature like that is always closeat hand."

  "Now, then," cried Dale, breaking in upon his meditations; "pack up, andlet's start for the bottom of the glacier. How long will it take us?"

  "Nearly two hours, herr."

  "We'll have some provisions for lunch, and take the big hammer andchisel: I shall want the rock marked, so that I can examine it when Icome next year, or the year after."

  The orders were obeyed, the tent closed up, water and fuel placed readyfor their return, and Melchior led off with the mule to cut across acorner before descending to the edge of the ice.

  Before they had gone a dozen yards there was a loud b-a-ah! fromoverhead, and the goat came bounding down from rock to rock in the mostbreakneck fashion; but it ended by leaping into their track, and ran upand butted its head against Saxe.

  "How friendly that animal has become!" said Saxe, as they walked on,with the goat munching away and trotting beside them; till Dale saidsuddenly, "Here--we do not want it with us: send it back."

  Saxe drove the goat away, but it took his movements as meaning play, anddanced and skipped, and dodged him and then dashed by, and on ahead, thesame gambols taking place at every attempt to send the animal back.

  "There--let it be," cried Dale at last: "you'll tire yourself out beforewe fairly start. Why, it follows us like a dog! Perhaps it will gettired soon, and go back."

  But the goat seemed to have no such intention, and it would have been adifficult task to tire out the active creature, which was now ticklingthe mule's ribs with one of its horns, now scrambling up some steeppiece of rock, now making tremendous leaps, and trotting on again ascalmly as if it were thoroughly one of the party.

  In due time the foot of the great glacier was reached, after a difficultscramble down the steep, smoothly polished rocks which shut it in oneither side.

  Here the mule was unloaded by a shabby amount of pasture, ice-axes andhammers seized, and the trio started over the level bed of the glacierstreams, the main rivulet dividing into several tiny veins, which spreadover the soft clayey earth brought down by the water. But this soongave place to rock as they neared the piled-up ice, which looked to Saxelike huge masses of dull white chalk, veined in every direction withblue.

  As they advanced the rock became more and more smooth, looking as if theice had only lately shrunk from its surface, but, on Melchior beingreferred to, he shook his head.

  "Not in my time, herr. The ice is creeping farther down the valleyevery year."

  "Well," said Dale; "we'll try and find out the rate of its progress byscoring the rock."

  This was done in several places as they advanced toward the low arch ofice from which the stream poured forth; and Saxe rather shrank from thistask, as it seemed to promise a long wade in chilling water.

  But as they came close up, it was to find ample room beneath the glacierto pick their way in over the rock, with the stream on their right,where it had worn itself a channel in the course of ages.

  Dale became immediately deeply interested in the structure of the iceand the state of the rock beneath the arch, at whose entrance he paused,while the guide under his instruction chipped marks at the edge of thestream by which he could test the rate of progress of the glacier.

  This was very interesting from a scientific point of view; but it soongrew tedious to Saxe, who began to penetrate a little farther into thelovely blue grotto, whose roof was a succession of the most delicateazure tints.

  "Don't go in too far alone," said Dale, looking up.

  "No: I shall not go too far," replied Saxe; "and, besides, I am notalone."

  He nodded laughingly toward the goat, which had followed him in withouthesitation, sniffing at the running water, and then throwing up itshorned head to gaze onward into the blue haze from which came thegurglings and strange whisperings of the water.

  "Well, I may as well go on a little bit," thought Saxe; and cautiouslyadvancing, so as not to step down some horrible rock split, he wentforward rapt in wonder at the beauty of the scene, as at the end of afew yards the passage curved round so that the opening became invisible,and he was gazing at the glorious rays of light which shot right by him,all tinted with celestial blue.

  "It is glorious," he thought; and then he gave quite a start, for thegoat beside him suddenly set up a loud bleat and began to advancefarther beneath the glacier, its pattering hoofs on the stone soundingloudly above the water.

  "Here, you: stop! Come back," cried Saxe: "you'll be tumbling down somehole. Do you hear?"

  If the goat did hear, it paid no heed, but went on; and as the wayseemed to be safe in the dim blue light, Saxe followed, till fromtwilight it began to grow purply-black before he had nearly overtakenthe goat, which uttered a mournful baa, and stopped short, as agood-sized lump of ice flew by its head, and smashed upon the rock; andas the goat still advanced, another and another came flying.

  Saxe retreated horrified and startled, to reach the spot where theothers were, breathless and pale.

  "Hullo! What's the matter?"

  "The ice is falling in. Come out."

  "Nonsense!" cried Dale.

  "It is; or else lumps are flying out from inside; and the goat and Iwere nearly hit."

  Dale looked at the guide, who shook his head.

  "Some ice might fall farther in," he said; "but pieces could not comeflying out."

  "Of course not," said Dale, returning to his observations. "Go in andsee."

  It was on Saxe's lips to say, "Never again!" for his thoughts flew backto his last night's experience; but just then the goat bleated, lookedinquiringly along the blue winding cavern, with its amethystine roof,and began to advance.

  "There you are, Saxe," cried Dale: "go after that goat and turn herback, or she'll lose herself, and there'll be no milk for tea."

  Saxe felt obliged to go now; and, calling himself a coward to be afraidto enter that long cellar-like place, he walked boldly in after thegoat, turned the corner where the arch of light was left behind, withthe two fingers busy chipping and measuring, and went on.

  The goat looked very indistinct now, then it disappeared in the purplegloom; and it was only by listening to the pat-pat of its hoofs on thestone that Saxe could satisfy himself that it was going forward, andthat there was no dangerous fall awaiting him.

  Then the goat bleated again, and _crick_, _crack_, _crash_, came thesound of pieces of ice striking the walls and floor. The goat camebounding back, followed by another piece of ice, which broke close toSaxe's feet, as he turned and took flight once more.

  "Hullo!--back! Why, you look scared, boy!"

  "There is ice falling or flying out."

  Dale laughed; and this put the boy upon his mettle, as he now argu
edwith himself that help was very near.

  "I want the lanthorn," he said aloud.

  "What for?"

  "To go and see what it is."

  "That's right. Give him the lanthorn, Melchior. We'll follow himdirectly."

  The guide swung the lanthorn round from where it hung at his belt,detached it, lit it; and, with the confidence afforded by the light,Saxe grasped his ice-axe firmly, and walked right in, preceded once moreby the goat.

  The mingling of the light with the amethystine gloom had a verybeautiful effect, as the former flashed from the surface of the wallsand made the ice glitter; but Saxe had no eyes then for naturalbeauties. He could think of nothing but the flying lumps of ice, and,oddly enough, the remembrance of the horrible head which he had seen inthe night now came strongly back.

  But he went on, and, if not boldly, at any rate with a fixeddetermination to see the adventure to the end.

  Saxe was able to penetrate farther this time, with the goat pattering onbefore him; and to show that there was no fancy in the matter, the lightflashed from some broken fragments of ice lying close beside the rushingstream. But though he held the lanthorn high above his head, he couldsee nothing, only the dim arch, the line of shining water, and the palestony floor.

  Just ahead, though, the stream took a sudden bend round to the left, andthe dry portion of the stone taking the same direction, Saxe went on,involuntarily raising his axe as if there might be danger round beyondthat bend where the ice projected like a buttress.

  He was close upon it now, and, holding the light well up with his lefthand, he was in the act of turning the corner, when something moved outof the darkness on the other side, and Saxe stood once more petrifiedwith horror as the light fell upon the huge face he had seen in thenight, but hideously distorted, and with the glowing bloodshot eyeswithin six inches of his own.