ard Hari began to relate his life last winter. He had remained with
Michael Canol, who was too old now to stand it; for an accident might
happen during that long solitude. They had not been dull, however; the
only thing was to be resigned to it from the first, and in the end one
would find plenty of distraction, games and other means of whiling away
the time.

Ulrich Kunsi listened to him with his eyes on the ground, for in
thought he was with those who were descending to the village. They soon
came in sight of the inn, which was scarcely visible, so small did it
look, a mere black speck at the foot of that enormous billow of snow.
When they opened the door, Sam, the great curly dog, began to romp
round them.

"Come, my boy," old Gaspard said, "we have no women now, so we must get
our own dinner ready. Go and peel the potatoes." And they both sat down
on wooden stools, and began to put the bread into the soup.

The next morning seemed very long to Kunsi. Old Hari smoked and smoked
beside the hearth, while the young man looked out of the window at the
snow-covered mountain opposite the house. In the afternoon he went out,
and going over the previous day's ground again, he looked for the
traces of the mule that had carried the two women; then when he had
reached the neck of the Gemmi, he laid himself down on his stomach, and
looked at Loeche.

The village, in its rocky pit, was not yet buried under the snow,
although the white masses came quite close to it, balked, however, of
their prey by the pine woods which protected the hamlet. From his
vantage point the low houses looked like paving-stones in a large
meadow. Hauser's little daughter was there now in one of those
gray-colored houses. In which? Ulrich Kunsi was too far away to be able
to make them out separately. How he would have liked to go down while
he was yet able!

But the sun had disappeared behind the lofty crest of the Wildstrubel,
and the young man returned to the chalet. Daddy Hari was smoking, and,
when he saw his mate come in, proposed a game of cards to him. They sat
down opposite each other for a long time and played the simple game
called brisque; then they had supper and went to bed.

The following days were like the first, bright and cold, without any
more snow. Old Gaspard spent his afternoons in watching the eagles and
other rare birds which ventured on to those frozen heights; while
Ulrich journeyed regularly to the neck of the Gemmi to loo