The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1885-02-27

tnere COulu not nave oeeT, WueH JeHl
took one of his long, stridiug steps, and
the snow beneath him gave way-sud-
denly--he did not sink in it as they
had been doing all along, he dropped
right down till only his head was visi-
BILE.
"For Heavens sake stand firm,
gasped Stanley, and the three strong
men planted themselves 10 the snow,
and pulled with all their might on TO
the rope. Surely they would be able
to hold us Jeni Ay, 80 they would;
but, as he moved and tried to raise
himself, the rope gave sharp snap
and breke in two, just between Stanley
and Jeni, and with ringing cry of de.
spair the guide fell down into the
uumeasured depths of the crevasse be-
low.
Details of the next few hours and Of
the return of the remaining three to
St. Moritz need not be given. 1t was
altogether impossible to recover Jeni's
body, and in his icy grave they left
him. Maybe, if the poor fellow could
have chosen his own resting place it
would have been somewhere among
those mountains he loved but too well.
1t is also unnecessary to enter at
length into the painful question as to
who was to blame for the accident
primarily, perhaps, Jeni himself, for a
guide should trust to no one the super.
vision of aything so important as the
ropes, aud certainly in this case the
rope was a worn one, which Jeni, if he
had seen, would never have thought of
using; then Stanley was more or less
to blame, because he promised Jeni he
would see to everything, and instead
Of doing 80 he left the arrangements
to Hardt and finally, of course, Hardt
was bitterly to blame for taking an
unsound rope. He had but a feeble
excuse TO make for himself, l. e., that
he had no better one, and did not like
to put off the whole expedition because
the rope might be trifle rotten.
Stanley was almost Indifferent as to
the cause, he was so entirely taken up
with its effect, for he felt altogether
frantic at the thought, which never
left him, of pretty Christina and her
awful sorrow. At first he intenoed to
travel down without pause to Sargans,
aud break her the news himself; then
it seemed to him that she would bear
to hear it from her own father, and to
him he telegraphed the facts. Schmidt
was brave man, with strong feelings,
which he held under all circumstances
in perfect control; and perhaps he
thought his little daughter more like
himself than she was, in her present
weakness. Possibly things might have
been different if he, realizing her fee.
bleness, had prepared her for the bad
news, before telling it to her in its
utter hopelessness but he treated her
as he would have preferred being
treated himself. With the telegram in
bis hand he went into her room where
she sat by her baby's cot, and said to
her:
"Christina, your husband is killed "
And he put the telegram into her
lap. She looked scared for an instant,
and then she said, with a sweet pretty
smile playing round her mouth:
80, no he isn't; he is coming home
to me tonight"
"But, my child, he was killed ycster-
day on the Piz Bernina!"
She turned terribly white, and that
hopeless monosyllable, "Dead," es
capped from between her closed lips,
while, snatching up the telegram, she
read and re-read its contents and un-
derstood its cruel meaning only toe
clearly for her reason to bear the
shock it received. Gradually change
most cruel TO watch came over heI
agonized face. Again it was lighted
by smile-but senseless, feelingless
meaningless smile-and she said gay
ly:
ale is coming by the 6:20 train
We must 60 down and meet him, ia
ther."
"Good Heavens was she mad'
Ay, mad she was, although her ia
ther could not believe anything so hor
ribe until the doctor fetched from
Zurich, in his certainty of the fact
asked what asylum Schmidt proposed
sending her to- then he said 6ercel,
that he would look after his owl
daughter himself. And he did 80, will
the tenderness which belongs only to
strong man, as long as the poor CIR
needed it.
, Far more pitiful than any heart bro
ken woman was she in her senseles
. expectancy, which gave way after
day or two to dull despair. But sh
continued to insist that Hans was com
ing by the 6:2O tram; and after
while, not content with meeting tina
one, she spent nearly the whole of he
time Just outside the station, wher
she could see the trains come in an
watch who got out of them. Vine
3 Stanley arrived one evening, in pour
ing rain, she was standing there bare
, headed (for she excitedly refused an
interference.) her long golden brow
, hair streaming over her shoulders o
, to her dripping, clinging black gowr
3 She tried to dart toward the train as
3 drew up, but her father, gently br
: firmly putting his arms around he
/ kept her near him; she struggled vi,
t lently for moment, and then remain
i ed passive. Everybody in the trai
, was watching and plying her, and,
may be; wondering concerning her sa
story. When she caught sight ,
{ Stanley she fled to some steps whiC
led to the basement of a neighborin
house, and crouched down on then
b began twisting up her hair in despe
ate haste.
"Thi. is Hans friend" she sal
i "who will tell me why he does n,
. come but Hans would like me TO
r very tidy AMI neat to meet the gentl
man"
T. And then, with the impetuosity
r madness, she rushed up to Stanley, ar
falling on her knees on the wet groun
; at his feet, she begged and implort
h him to send her husband back TO her.
The last time Stanley had see
Christina she was standing by Jen
side, holding his hand and lookir