Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1898-02-10

l
There's Kaufman standing oveI
there, isn't It? Wen ask him." sale
Jeffreys.
One OF the shadowy figures standing
few PAGES of in the street came te
them with quiet Good evenings. gen
tlemen."
dat is goot 1t ISIS very nice climb
We must go by four o'clock" he an.
| swered In the slow speech of one moi
used to the language.
us II very steep and is there much
snow?" asked Pollard.
der ISIS a long couloir. when goes
first and makes steps So" the guide
answered, kicking at the little terrace
on which they sat to explain his mean
ing. Den the rocks ISIS not hardt
und der view is wundershon. How one
says that in English? All. beautiful. II
ISIS very beautiful" repeated the guide,
proud of his increased vocabulary.
There will be four of us. Kaufman.
Had we better have another guide?'
asked Jeffreys.
"Yes, dat ISIS better. My brother can
come We make two parties; one lady,
one gentleman, and one guide. 1t iss
very goot So
GAIL right Kaufman, then we shall
be ready tomorrow morning" Jeffreys
answered, and with mutual salutatious
the guide went to his chalet. and all
except Pollard entered the hotel. He
shifted to a more comfortable chair,
for the cool evening had driven most
of the visitors into the hotel; and as
he filled his pipe his thoughts went
back to his arrival at Zermatt. He
came hoping to ask Mary Jeffreys to
be his wife, but somehow he had never
dared to ask her. He saw now, only
too plainly, that she loved Barton, and
that she had looked upon him as a
welcome addition to the party and not
as a lover. There were still ten days
before he was expected home, but he
had determined to return at once and
forget her as much as possible in the
restless hurry of his life. He was in
very melancholy frame of mind
when the church clock struck ten, and
recalled him from his brown study. He
found that his pipe was out and re-
membered that he would have to start
in six hours for his first peak.
The morning was glorious. The sun
was lighting the rocky peak of the
Matterhorn, and was slowly creeping
down the side of the valley. One or
two guides were already outside of the
hotel, and Kaufman was busy put
ting sandwiches and wine, snowgait-
ers and all the impedimenta of
climbers outfit into n couple of ruck
sacks. The air was frosty, and the
party started at brisk pace, that soon
moderated when they left the village
and turned up the steep mountain
side. The two guides tramped on
steadily ahead, and those behind, after
a few vain attempts at conversation,
relapsed into silence and saved their
breath for the task before them.
Slowly they climbed toward the sunlit
heights, and when they felt the first
warm rays of the sun there was a
general sigh of relief. But the heat was
soon found to be more trying than the
frosty cold below, and all extra wraps
were thrown off and heaped upon the
pile on the guides backs. Near the
foot of the steep couloir that led
straight into the heart of the mountain
the rucksacks were taken off and
second breakfast was eaten while the
ropes were being uncoiled. When the
snowgaiters had been buckled on and
tho oarofullx 20 ctn thnu CT art-
ed up the slope. Kaufman tied the
rope to his waist and led the way, the
elder Miss Pollard came in the mid
die, and Pollard was fastened to the
end of that rope. The younger Kauf-
man, with Jeffreys and his sister roped
in the same way, made up the second
party. The couloir was steep and the
snow covered with a hard skin of
ice, and progress was necessarily slow,
as Kaufman kicked step after step
in the shining slope. The sun had not
entered this gully and the cold seemed
intense by comparison with the sun
shine they had just quilted.
The two guides chose slightly diff
ferent routes up the couloir, to avoid
showering the loose snow on those be-
low, and it soon became race as to
which should reach the little snowy
col which glistened above them be-
tween two rocky peaks. Slowly the
elder Kaufman drew ahead of his
brother, so that Jeffreys and his sister
had only struggled some two-thirds
of the way up the gully when they
heard shout Of victory asJ derision
from above and saw the first three sill
houetted against the sky.
For few moments they stood look
ing at the magnificent view beneath
them. To their right was little rocky
peak, and in front and beneath rolled
the Trift glacier. The sky was cloud
less, and where they stood at the top
of the gully the sun shone brightly
upon them. To their left was the
smooth ridge that ended the snow
slope they had just climbed, and on
the far side rose a steep face of rock,
up which lay the track to the sum-
NIT.
I'VE must go, or when we climbs
we makes stones fall on my brother"
Kaufman said, as soon as they had
regained their breath; and he care
fully walked a:ross tie little col. prob
ing each step with the long handle of
his ice-axe before he advanced. you
must go in my steps always" he said,
half turning forward Miss Jeffreys,