Evening star., 1909-03-07

come to grief. Use the rope properly IS my
motto, and it has never failed me, not even
when two out of five of us were struck sense
less by falling stones the south side of Monte
Rosa"
Helen experienced another thrill. Il very
much object to falling stones" she said.
Stampa threw out his hands in emphatic ges-
ture. What can one do!" he cried. They
are always danger, like the snow cornice and
the nfuf. There is chimney on the Jungfrau
through which stones are constantly shooting
from height of two thousand feet. You can
not see them; they travel too fast for the eye
You hear something sing past your ears that IS
all. Occasionally there is report like gun
Shot, and then you observe a little cloud of
dust rising from a new scar on rock. II you
are hit-well, there is no dust, because the
stone goes right through. OF course one does
not loiter there.
went on, Ladies should not 60 to such places.
1t is not fit. But for men, yes. There is the JOY
of battle. Do not err, frdnLefn,-the mountains
are alive; and they fight to the death They
can be beaten; but there must be no mistakes.
They are like strong men, the hills. When you
strive against them strain them to your breast
and never relax your grp. Then they yield
slowly, with many trick and false move that
a man must learn If he would look down over
them all and say, l am lord here!' All, me, /,
Shall l ever again cross the Col du Lion or
climb the Great Tower? But therel l am old,
and thrown aside. Boys whom l engaged as
porters would refuse now their porter.
Better to have died like my friend Michel Croz,
than live to be goatherd."
He seemed to pull himself up with an effort.
That way-to your left-you cannot miss the
path -Addio, signortna," and he lifted his hat
with the Unborn grace Of the peasantry of
Southern Europe.
HELEN was hoping that he might elect to
- accompany her to Cavloccio She would
willingly have paid him for loss of time. Her
ear was becoming better tuned each moment to
his strange patois. Though he often gave soft
Italian infection to the harsh German sylab bles,
She grasped his meaning quite literally. She
had read SO much about Switzerland that she
knew how Michel Croz killed while de-
scending the Matterhorn after having made the
first ascent. That historic accident happened
long before she was born. To hear man speak
Of Croz as friend sounded almost unbe1iev-
able; though moments thought told her that
Whymper, who led the attack ON the hitherto
impregnable Cervin on that July day in 1865,
was still living, keen A1pinist.
She could not refrain from asking Stampa
one question, though she imagined that he
was now in hurry to take the damaged car
rage back to St. Moritz. Michel Croz was a
brave man." she said Did you know him
well!"
Il worshiped him, jrdnLeim," was the rever-
ent answer May receive pardon in nay last
hour, but took him for an evil spirit ON the day
of his death! was with Jean Antoine Carrel in
Signor Giordano's party. We started from
Breuil; CroZ and his voyageurs from Zermatt
We failed; he succeeded When we saw him
and his Englishmen on the summit. we believed
they were devils, because they yelled in tri-
umph and started an avalanche of stones to
announce their victory. Three days later Car
rel and !, with two men from Breui tried
again We gained the top that time, and
passed the place where Croz was knocked over
by the English MILFORD and the Others who fell
with him. ! saw three bodies on the glacier
four thousand feet below,-a fine burial ground,
better than that up there"
He looked back at the pines which now hid
the cemetery wall from sight Then, with an
other courteous sweep of his hat. he walked
away, covering the ground rapidly despite his
twisted leg.
To be continued next Sunday.