of summer they could not be found, and no one knew
what had become of them. Finally, as the snows melted and fell from the
peak in slides and avalanches, the missing articles were uncovered,
having been buried in a white grave forty feet deep.

And so the wild night passed, until with tedious deliberation the little
window made a hole in the darkness, and I knew that morning was at hand.
The howling without was as loud as ever, and the fine snow was packed
high upon the window, shutting out a good share of the light. The floor
was covered with white drifts, and my shoes had swallowed snow; but
being hard and dry, it was easily shaken out. There was no fire to be
built and no breakfast to be prepared. But it was impossible to lie
still, even for the sake of keeping warm, and pulling on our shoes we
stamped about the floor, and occasionally opened the door to see what
the storm was about. Along about eight o'clock it began to lighten, and
my hopes rose. We could catch an occasional glimpse of the crowning peak
and of the observatory, which we knew contained two or three of
Janssen's men and some provisions. An hour later, when the storm seemed
about at an end, and we were preparing to ascend to the top, we saw the
men from the observatory coming down. They warned us that the snow above
was in bad condition, and, believing that more foul weather was to come,
they were embracing this opportunity to get down. Couttet proposed that
we should accompany them, especially as they reported nothing left to
eat at the observatory, but I declined. Again the event proved that he
was right, for while we waited a little before starting out, the storm
fell upon us once more. Then Couttet insisted upon descending, and I did
not think it wise to oppose his decision, knowing that it was based upon
experience and that he had nothing to gain and something to lose in
returning without having conducted his "monsieur" to the summit.

[Illustration: A BIRTHPLACE OF AVALANCHES, MONT BLANC.]

A SECOND ATTEMPT FOR THE SUMMIT.

We put on the rope and scrambled down, but when we got upon the neck
below the Bosses the clouds whirled off and the burnished sun stood over
the white peak, too splendid to be looked upon.

"Couttet, we must go up," I exclaimed.

"As you say," he replied; and we turned upon our track.

We had got back to the hut and started up the steep arete above it, when
the sun disappeared, the air turned white, and the wind resumed