The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1908-09-23

port from the next above. A single
false step, a slip on the part of either,
would involve both in fearful ca
tastrophe.
We did not say word to each 9TH
er. All our energies were needed for
crossing the slope. The fatiguing ma
ture of that cautious tread I cannot
tell you. Every muscle was tense to
rigidity, every nerve keyed high; our
eyes were strained to detect the
smallest motion. and our ears were
alert to catch the slightest sound.
Seventy-five feet out we reached
boulder that rose above the shingle.
1t barely afforded footing for us both.
We did not dare to remain long upon
It, for the temperature was far below
the freezing point, and we were stiff
with cold After few minutes Man
uel made a sign and once more we
took up our perilous Journey
We had gone about fifteen feet,
| when my guide, who was two yards
in advance, gave sharp exclamation.
There was harsh rattling sound.
run, senior, run!" Manuel shout
ed, and his great leaps set me the ex-
ample.
He must have stepped on what was
the keystone of the entire mass, so
set that its slightest movement would
affect the whole. AS ran l cast one
hasty glance upward. I verify be-
leve that every piece of rock from
top to bottom was in motion at once.
The whole mountainside seemed to
be crawling toward us.
First there came the faint rolling
and clinking of scattered pebbles.
then a loud rattle, swelling into the
roar of an avalanche, as rock after
rock added itself to the sliding mass.
One instant the declivity lay silent
and motionless in the moonlight; the
next it was all alive, slipping, grind
ing, roaring, with the sound Of a
stone crusher in full action.
It was useless to think Of gaining
| the ledge at which we had aimed.
| Twenty-Five feet below 1t was anoth-
er, not quite so high, but longer and
narrower, and toward this we bent
our course in flying leaps.
There was no chance to pick the
best spot for holding on. We threw
ourselves down upon the ledge on
our faces, fortunately clutching a
shoulder. Had we gained the boul-
der above, at which we had aimed,
we should have been swept away by
the flood that poured over it. AS it
was 1t broke the force of the slide
and kept the great mass Of rock away
from us.
Our situation was still perilous in
the extreme. The ledge which af-
forded us refuge rose only few
inches above the surrounding debris.
Had the stones confined themselves
to rolling it would have been bad
enough. But the smaller ones, de-
flected and shot high. into the air by
passing over the ledge above, rained
down upon us like the spray of a
rocky waterfall.
1t was fortunate that our eyes and
teeth escaped, for, as we lay, we were
obliged to face the avalanche. OF
course we could not shelter our faces
with our hands, for we needed every
finger to hold on with. So we ducked
our heads as low as possible, and the
missiles beat a tattoo upon our skulls
until our hair was matted with blood.
Had the stones been any larger we
should have been battered into insen-
sibility and quickly hurled over the
precipice.
Once / was in deadly peril. A
rock, larger than the rest, struck my
fingers, numbing them and causing
me to relax my hold. My grasp was
torn away, and for the fraction of a
terrible second / was at the mercy of
the torrent. Then my guide, at the
risk of his own life, let go the ledge
with one hand and clutched my shoul-
der. Again / regained my place and
clung with redoubled strength.
The force of the slide abated. The
dust cleared. Lastly few scattered
rocks dashed down over the denuded
surface. At one instant a stony Ma
CARA seemed to be roaring around
us; then we heard the distant rumble
J of its fall die away in the depths of
the ravine. The next moment there
was utter stiffness, as sudden as if a
great door, padded and mufled, had
shut out the sound. Only the snow
crowned peak, high above us, gave
back the pale light of the moon.
Then we saw the reason why the
mass had slid so smoothly and rap
idly. The slope was practically a
plane inclined at sharp angle, bro
ken, to be sure, by few projecting
lodges, but in the main free from OBJ
structions. How long it had been
collecting its load We could only con-
lecture. AS the cliff above disinte-
grated under the action of frost and
rain and ice, small pieces fell from ii
one by one, until the whole slant be-
came charged with fragments ready
to be set in motion by the least inn
pulse. Possibly the next falling rock
of any considerable size might have