nto the sea, with a thunderous roar that echoed and re-echoed from the
enclosing mountains. For a moment it disappeared in a milky cloud of
foam and spray. Then it shot up from the depths like some stupendous
submarine monster, and with torrents of water streaming from it in
glittering cascades, floated on the heaving surface a new-born iceberg.

"It must be a glacier," said Phil, in an awe-stricken tone.

"It is a glacier," answered Serge, triumphantly, "and one of the most
famous in the world, for it is the Muir, which is larger and contains
more ice than all the eleven hundred glaciers of Switzerland put
together. That cabin is the one occupied by John Muir and his companions
when they explored it in 1890. To think that we should have come down
one of its branches, and even crossed the great glacier itself without
knowing what it was! I believe we would have known it, though, if the
snow hadn't been so deep as to alter the whole character of its
surface."

"If this is the Muir Glacier," reflected Phil, "I don't see but what we
are in a box. We must be to the westward of Chilkat."

"Yes," said Serge. "It lies to the eastward of those mountains."

"Which don't look as though they would be very easy even for us to
climb, while I know we couldn't get Jalap and Nel-te over them. I don't
suppose any tourist steamers will be visiting this place for some time,
either."

"Not for two months at least," replied Serge.

"Which is longer than we can afford to wait without provisions or
supplies of any kind. So we shall have to get away, somehow, and pretty
quickly too. It doesn't look as though we could follow the coast any
further, though; for just below here the cliffs seem to rise sheer from
the water."

"No," said Serge, "we can't. We can only get out by boat or by scaling
the mountains."

"In which case we shall starve to death before we have a chance to do
either," retorted Phil, gloomily, "for we are pretty nearly starved now.
In fact, old man, it looks as though the good fortune that has stood by
us during the whole of this journey had deserted us at its very end."

By this time the boys had strolled back to the cabin, which was left by
the setting sun in a dark shadow. As they turned its corner they came
upon Nel-te standing outside clapping his chubby hands, and gazing
upward in an ecstasy of delight. Following the child's glance Phil
uttered a startled exclamation, and sprang through the doorway. A moment
l