But his meditations were interrupted by the stern nature of the work before them. Their route led them along the foot of a line of towering and trembling séracs. The vibration of a whisper might send them crashing down upon the party.
Placing one hand on his lips as a warning for silence, he dexterously cut steps in the ice with the other. Progress was slow and nerve-racking. Every step had to be taken with infinite precaution. Once Lord Tamerton slipped and would have fallen headlong to destruction had not Ralph caught him by the ear and lifted him back into his steps.
But at length the trying passage was almost accomplished. Only Sir Ernest Scrivener remained in peril.
Unconsciously Ralph removed his fingers from his lips. Inexperienced as a climber, Sir Ernest imagined this to be a signal that the danger was now over.
"I say," he began.
It was enough. In an instant the whole line of séracs toppled from their bases and thundered down upon him. Ralph did not hesitate. The man was his most deadly enemy, but—he was Lady Margaret's cousin. Ralph sprang to the rope; it snapped like thread between his fingers.
With a cry of despair Sir Ernest vanished in the roaring avalanche of ice and snow. Throwing a quite reassuring smile to Lady Margaret, Ralph joined his hands above his head an dived unflinchingly after him.
(To be concluded in our next.)
Golfer (playing his second round in the day). "Into this beastly bunker again, Caddie!"
Caddie. "No, S'. This is the one you missed this morning."
[A weekly paper points out that letters of proposal should be carefully timed to arrive in the evening, that being the sentimental time of the day when acceptance is most likely.]
Good Sir, your directions are all very fine,
But, when I propose by the pen trick,
I shall look for a temper to tolerate mine,
And mine is distinctly eccentric;
If she, in the morning, is likely to grouse,
If her breakfast demeanour is surly,
There would not be room for us both in the house;
I'm peevish myself when it's early.
So rather I'd have her most critical mood
Prevail at the time of my wooing;
I'd like to be sure that the girl understood
Exactly the thing she was doing.
I feel in my heart it were better for me
To double the risk of rejection,
In order (if haply accepted) to be
A calm and cold-blooded selection.
Let my letter arrive when the day at its start
Provokes a malevolent feeling:
Her answer may puncture a hole in my heart,
But Time is an expert at healing;
And that will be better than learning too late,
At the end of the honeymoon season,
That the lady had only consented to mate
In an hour that was bad for her reason.
From a concert programme at Brighton:—
"Parsifal.
Tannhäuser.
Walküre.
Gotterdämmerung.
Siegfried.
Tristan and Isolde.
Requiem for 3 cellos and orchestra."
The last item does not surprise us.
"Anstruther.—Comf. roofs. 2 beds, 25th July on; sea view."—Glasgow Herald.
The fresh air craze is spreading.
