Evening star., 1898-08-27

8
Boom! Boom! A report like a cannon,
or park of artillery, rang sharply out on
the still air, and one of the very highest
peaks on the wall of ice was shivered into
fragments falling with a loud splash four
hundred feet into the water below.
by Jove! That was a Jim Dandy!''
cried Harry Page, as he stood with Dane
Hartmann on the deck of the Queen, at
anchor in Glazier Bay, gazing with glowing
eyes upon the wonderful Muir Glazicr.
Every few noments there would come
the sound of sharp explosion, or sud-
den crash, and some monument of snowy
beauty would fall from the icy wall ike an
avalanche of snow filling the air with a
shower of powdery flakes. and tumble
headlong into the foam below, to drift with
the tide to the open sea, or to join its fell
lows in the ice-rimmed bay, where they
cleaned with such beautiful rainbow tints
that the inlet had the appearance of fairy
land.
drew a deep breath, and then surrepti-
tiously gave himself several hard pinches
to assure himself that he was still in the
land of the living and not in world of
dreams. But his doubts upon the subject
we're suddenly brought to an abrupt termi-
nation by Harry giving him sharp prod
in the back, as he exclaimed: Come old
| man. don't look so glum. One would think
you Were frozen as stiff as yonder ice
wall
At this moment the professor Joined the
boys. His pale countenance, which gener-
ally wore an expression of the utmost pla-
cidity, seemed unduly ruffled His glasses
had fallen from his nose and were dangling
in his beard, as he stared about him with
short-sighted glare, utterly oblivious of
his loss.
"'Tis wonderful. sublimew he mur-
INJURED. Boys he continued. after
pause. 'it is sight you will never see
again. Improve every moment
But Harry, who had spent all his spare
seconds on the trip in counting the number
of times his uncle had repeated that ad-
monitory preface to lengthy lecture on
the advisability of improving each shining
moment. and having arrived at the three
hundred and forty-ninth count broke in
with. why, Uncle Dick, where are your
glasses? You look as If you had been
struck by cyclone
My glassesi" nervously repeated Pro-
fessor Diane, as he began to glare wildly
| about him in search of the missing eyes;
but at that moment Deane came to the
his normal condition.
Tell M, professor inquired Dane, after
another long look at the magnificent spec
tacle before him, who, first discovered this
| wonderful glacier?" =
"An old schoolmate .ref Tmine. Professor
John Muir, state geolOgisB of California"
| replied Professor Deane, He was the first
white man to visit the cgacier. and It's said
his first view of it wasIin 1879, from an In
dian canoe" g. "
At that moment theTe came sharp de-
tonation, followed by a far away rumbling
sound Ja III
what is that rumbling?' asked Dane
quickly. "It sounds like an earthquake" ,"
"It is the ice breaking away far back in
the mountain passes. "treplied Mr.. Deane
Not long after, as ahe ntwo boys were
ft,1sy, sud
denly attracted to a party of sailors who
were being lowered over .the side of the
ship. Eager with the novelty of their sur
roundings, and wide-awake to each new
phase of the scene, the be.ys rushed quickly
| to the side of the steamer where they per-
ceived two boats, ma nned with sailors, who
were armed with pickaxas and hatchets,
bobbing up and down on the waves.
What are they going to ,ao?' asked
Harry. curiously. of a good natured look
ing tar, who was hauling up dong rope,
while calling STEADY as ye go, now!' in
sort of a sing song sailor fashion, that
quite won the boys admiration.
There's a fair wind aft tonight and We'll
soon be under sailing orders, so the men
are off to cut ice down the bay" replied the
man.
For some time the lads stood and watched
the sailors slide up and down the rope, un-
til at length Harry cried: Come, Dane,
let's swing down and go with the sailors
to the fun
1.-The professor might object. and then
there would be a row., replied Dane dll-
biously although as much inclined to see
the sport as his friend.
.'Oh, Uncle Dick won't care. We can't
come to grief and he's too busy talking
with the Senator to mind what We are up
to-
well, you go and ask him." answered
Dane.
moment later he rejolned his compan-
ion. Uncle Dicks head is buried in the
clouds. and he's walking on air l don't
believe he knew what l was talking about
but he said we could co.
Just before the boat dropped down the
bay dark figure was seen to slide down
the rope and, with hasty jump land in
the foremost boat 1t was Dane, who, a
moment later, saw Harry come flying down
behind him amid the loud hurrahs OF the
Sailors and give quick leap into the near
est boat, the one in the rear But 1t was
too late for Harry to rectify his mistake,
for the first boat had already swung clear
of her moorings and with dip of the oars
was skmming lightly over the water to
the sides of the bay.
A of a couple of miles brought the
boat into a small cove, where several i'm
mense bodies of ice had grouped them
selves apparently into solid mass. Steer
ing to a good-sized rock Of ice more free
of dirt and stones than it's fellows. the men
cleared off the upper crust of snow that
covered it. and then began to chip off big,
sharkling blocks, which were quickly land
time Dane stood silently watching the men,
but presently he grabbed a pickax and set
to work as hard as any of the sailors.
Suddenly a loud boom sounded in his
ear, followed by terrific roaring noise; he
heard sailor give sharp cry and looked
up just in time to see a huge iceberg that
had suddenly broken from the mass of
bergs nearby bearing down upon them
with Hghtning-like speed. Horrifed Dane
stared wildly about him, realizing that in
a seconds time their little boat would be
swamped, laden she was with stupen-
douS blocks of ice. - &Dl Is
Another moment and 1.-The iceberg had
struck the boat, but simultaneously with
the crash of shivering timber Dane made
flying leap and landednin'a bed of snow
on top of the moving mass But the bed
of snow proved to be a hard crust of ice,
and second later the boy felt himself
slipping off. His feet meres already touch
ing the water when with quick movement
he grasped a spar of6iceothat protruded
above his head. With snap it parted in
his hand and Dane felt that his end had
come. With heart beating like sledge
hammer and his breath Gaming In heavy
gasps he frantioany attemRted to clutch
jagged rift of ice at HIS side.
Thank God This time he succeeded, Tor