l as
coal pours down a chute into a cellar. Serious injury was certain to
result if either of the lads got caught in such a slide; for some of the
stones in these piles weighed hundreds of pounds.

Rattlesnakes constituted a second danger. The mountains hereabout were
full of them. One never could tell at what instant a rattler might be
found lying among the stones, or coiled on a flat rock that had been
warmed by the sun. So like the rocks themselves in color were these snakes
that in the dull light it would have been easily possible to step on one
of them without seeing it. So the two boys advanced slowly and cautiously
across these barren stretches, stepping gingerly on stones that looked
insecure and ever keeping a sharp watch for anything that might suggest
snakes.

Up they went and still upward. Across bare rock patches, through brushy
growths and among dense stands of young trees, the two boys forced their
way, ever ascending, ever working upward toward the summit. Now they made
their way to the right, now to the left, and sometimes they climbed
straight upward in their efforts to avoid obstacles.

"Gee!" cried Charley after they had been climbing for some time. "This is
what I call tough going. Let's have a drink."

They sat down on a stone to rest. Perspiration was pouring down their
faces. Both boys were breathing hard. The canteen was uncorked and they
took a good drink.

"Not too much," cautioned Lew, as Charley started to take a second
draught. "You can't climb if you fill up too full."

After a short rest they went on again. The way grew rockier. There were
fewer piles of loose stones, but more outcropping rocks, the bare bones of
the earth. Constantly the light dwindled. Their progress grew slower. From
time to time they paused to drink and rest.

"We're never going to make it before dark," said Charley, again pausing to
get his breath. He took a drink and passed the canteen to his companion.

"Then we'll have to make it after dark," said Lew. "For the canteen is
about empty and we've got to have water. I'm so thirsty I could drink a
gallon."

They said no more, but pushed ahead as fast as their weary legs would
carry them.

"We're not far from the top now," Lew said after a time. "I see our old
landmark over to the left. It isn't more than half a mile from that to the
water. We'll make it all right."

But he had hardly gone fifty yards before he stopped and cried out. Before
him lay a black