rch-party sir? I am afraid that there is not much
doubt that they have gone up the mountain. My sister, you know--" he
flushed a little--"my sister is not altogether responsible for her
actions. She would not realize the danger."

"But surely Dinah wouldn't be such a little fool as to go too!" burst
forth the Colonel. "She's sane enough, when she isn't larking about with
other fools." He glared at Sir Eustace. "And how the devil are we to know
where to look, I'd like to know? We can't hunt all over the Alps."

"There may be some dogs in the village," Scott said. "There is certainly
a guide. I will go down at once and see what I can find."

"No, no, Stumpy! Not you!" Sharply Sir Eustace intervened. "I won't have
you go. It's not your job, and you are not fit for it." He laid a
peremptory hand upon his brother's shoulder. "That's understood, is it?
You will not leave the hotel."

He spoke with stern insistence, looking Scott straight in the eyes; and
after a moment or two Scott yielded the point.

"All right, old chap! I'm not much good, I know. But for heaven's sake,
lose no time."

"No time will be lost." Sir Eustace turned round upon the Colonel. "We
can't have any but young men on this job," he said. "See if you can
muster two or three to go with me, will you? A doctor if possible! And we
shall want blankets and restoratives and lanterns. Stumpy, you can see to
that. Yes, and send for a guide too though he won't be much help in a
thick mist. And take that wailing woman away! Have everything ready for
us when we come back! They can't have gone very far. Isabel hasn't the
strength. I shall be ready immediately."

He turned to the stairs and went up them in great leaps, leaving the
little group below to carry out his orders.

There was a momentary inaction after his departure, then Scott limped
across to the door and opened it. Thick darkness met him, the clammy
darkness of fog, and the faint, faint rustle of falling snow.

He closed the door and turned back, meeting the Colonel's eyes, "It's
hard to stay behind, sir," he said.

The Colonel nodded. He liked Scott. "Yes, infernally hard. But we'll do
all we can. Will you find the doctor and get the necessaries together?
I'll see to the rest."

"Very good, sir; I will." Scott went to the old woman who still sobbed
piteously into her apron. "Come along, Biddy! There's plenty to be done.
Miss Isabel's room must be quite ready for her when she comes back, and
Mis