The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-18
G0PVRTGEo oE90@ BY eDo. QlLERo ALL ElGHT0 RESERVED.

 cowardsl Attach yourselvesp exclaimed the chief guide.
 Bompard protested energetically. Tar tarin seconded him strongly But noth- ing would stop these men who had been called towards. They were aroused and insisted on going up.
 However, they made little objection when Bompard and Tartarin declared firmly that they, for heir part, would go down. The descent was easy from where they were. Even inexperienced mountain climbers had made 1t without trouble. Still they would not ordinar- fly permit any one to go back alone; but gentleman who was president of a great Alpine club and had climbed the Jungfrau under such wonderful cir cumstances, and a climber who Lad been up Chimborazo-ah, there would be no difficulty It would be, for them, mere saunter of three hours.
 In another moment the two Tarasco- nions were alone. They advanced with I infinite precautlon over the desert of snow, attached to the same rope, Tartarin in front prodding with his alpenstock for crevasses.
 Courage and coolnessl We shall extri- cate ourselvesi' he said every instant. Suddenly there came distant rumbling. It came nearer and nearer, increased, spread over the horizon and finally died away underground in the gulfs of the Ice. Tartarin and Bompard ran into an ice grotto and sat there, trembling. The ele- ments became furious. The wind blew down the mountain bowling. The snow drove by In masses. Tartarin and Bom- pard thought of the ghastly museum at the Mulets. They recalled the old man s tale of the American tourist who was found dead in just such an ice grotto, petrified with cold and hunger. They grasped hands and forgave each other everything. They forgave the world. Only Costecalde-him the great heart of Tartarin could not so easily pardon, even in that grand moment. "It Is rather an- moving" said he, 'to die in the flower of ones age by the fault of a scoundrel who at this moment is taking his demi-tasse comfortably in Tarascon." At that instant the sky began to clear. Quick! Awayi They rested themselves and resumed their way, full of new hope, | plunging up to their knees into the new ly fallen snow, which obliterated all traces of the partys ascent. All at once Bobpard cried: ''Tartarin, we are ascending, not descendng!' "Ehl I can see fthat very welll' re- 1 piled the president, who seemed disturbed.
 But what do you want me to do? If we keep ascending we may get down on the 1 other side.'
 4hoy WcIo III d lIihSS OI pointed glaC1erS 1 now. Everywhere peaks stuck up. It was l fearful.
 Whatever you do, don't let me go, Tar tarini' calculated Bompard. Nor you me- replied Tartarin between his teeth.
 They exchanged these assurances with out seeing each other, for a peak was be- | tween them, Tartarin descending on the 1 one side with the utmost care. while Bonn pard was ascending on the other.
 Suddenly, when he was not more than a yard from the crest, Bompard heard a
 great cry from his companion. The rope jerked violently, strained, sang with taut
 ness. The next instant it parted, with astonishing smoothness. "Outrer'
 l "Boufre!'
 These two cries arose, wild and despair ing in the silence and the solitude. Then 1 succeeded terrible calm-the calmness i of deathi
 Toward evening a man vaguely resein-
 bling Bompard-a spectre. disheveled, wounded reached the hut of the Brands l Mulets, where he could barely mutter, In a voice choked with tears, "Tartarin-- lost-the rope broke
 1 When the guides returned with the
 Swede they set out in search of the un- 1 happy Tartarin, but alas! in vain. All they found was piece of rope fastened | to a small peak of ice where it had caught in a Assure. There was something
 curious about this rope. The mountain
 eers who looked at it shook their heads
 in silent, puzzled wonder. Bompard remained as if stupefied. Aft
 CT some days, when all search had proved futile, and every one was convinced that the great president of the Alpine club | was lost beyond recovery, the delegates returned to Tarascon, carrying with them l Bompard, whose skull showed scars from l his fall.
 Don't talk to me about it' was all | that he would say. l When they reached Taracon with the fearful news the city became as Rome | on the occasion Of the funeral of Ger 1 to commemorate the death of their H. | lustrous man. The club was draped in black Even Costecalde tried to squeeze | forth tears.
 One morning the bells began to peal l solemnly The shops were closed. The houses were shut. The population went to | church to the funeral service of its hero, who lay amid the glaciers of Mont Blanc i After church all Tarascon proceeded to 1 the Alpine club, where, in solemn session, l Bompard gave an account of the catas- | trophe Bezuquet sat in front, weeping 1 bitterly. When the banner, draped in crepe, was brought up, everybody kept
 Bezuquet company. The tears fell like 1 rain.
 Memory came back to the brave Bonn
 pard when he saw this universal sorrow.
 In touching, simple unaffected language 1 he related how they had reached the sum-
 init of Mont Blanc alone, the gudies hav- , ing refused to follow them, how they
 stood upon the highest peak in Europe, | with the banner of the club displayed 1 Then came the perous descent and the l fall--Tartarin rolling to the bottom of a | orevasse, while Bompard, attaching him. self to a rope 200 feet long, lowered him.
 self again to the bottom of the hideous l chasm
 More than 20 times, gentlemen-what do I say?-more than 90 times did I
 sound that abyss of ice," declared Bom- pard.
 Before Bompard began to speak, while
 the bells were still ringing, a pale,
 piteous-looking, shabby man came sidling
 into Tarascon, hugging the walls like a | thief. He kept sedulously to the back streets, avoiding observation. Yet the pre- caution was hardly necessary. Who would
 have recognized in this abject creature the
 great. the iR6strious the only Tartarin?
 For this was none less than he.
 When the two friends were on the two
 sides of the little peak on Mont Blanc
 the rope suddenly caught in Assure on the top. Each felt 1t jerk and stretch as l if tauntened by the falling of body.
 Each believed that his companion had
 slipped and was dangling over an abyss,
 and would drag the other with him. In that supreme moment-how can one l make this Clear in the light of the noble