eir assistance," said Spencer instantly.

"_Per certo, signor._ That is the law of the hills. But the _signora_?
What of her?"

"She will remain at the hut."

"I will do anything you wish," said Helen sorrowfully, for her
gladness had been changed to mourning by the fearsome tidings that
two, if not more, human beings were in imminent danger on the slopes
of the very hill that had witnessed the avowal of her love. They raced
back over the glacier, doubling on their own track, and were thus
enabled to travel without precaution.

Leaving Helen at the hut, the men lost no time in beginning the
ascent. They were gone so long that she was almost frantic with dread
in their behalf; but at last they came, slowly, with the tread of
care, for they were carrying the body of a man.

While they were yet a couple of hundred feet above the hut, Spencer
intrusted the burden to the Italians alone. He advanced with rapid
strides, and Helen knew that he brought bad news.

"Come, dear one," he said gently. "We must go to the inn and send
help. Our guides are bringing an injured man to the hut, and there is
one other whom we left on the mountain."

"Dead?"

"Yes, killed instantly by a stone. That was all. Just a mishap--one of
the things that can never be avoided in climbing. But come, dear. More
men are needed, and a doctor. This poor fellow is badly hurt."

"Can I do nothing for him?" she pleaded.

A species of fright twitched his grave face for an instant. "No, no,
that is not to be thought of," he urged. "Pietro says he has some
little skill in these matters. He can do all that is needed until a
doctor arrives. Believe me, Helen, it is imperative that we should
reach the hotel without delay."

She went with him at once. "Who is it?" she asked. He steeled himself
to answer according to his intent. Though he had vowed that never
again would he utter a syllable to his love that was not transparently
true, how could he tell her then that Stampa was stretched lifeless on
the broad bosom of Corvatsch, and that the Italians were carrying
Bower, crushed and raving in delirium, to the hut.

"An Englishman and his guide, I am sorry to say," was his prepared
reply. "The guide is dead; but his employer can be saved, I am sure,
if only we rush things a bit. Now, Helen, let us go at top speed. No
talking, dear. We must make the hotel under the hour."

They did it, and help was soon forthcoming. Then Spencer ordered a
carriage, and i