($one 



fian&sftfce 



this made my way toward the top. All my 

 mountain experience told me to stay on the 

 ridge and not travel in darkness the way in 

 which gravity flings all his spoils. 



The clouds were low, and I climbed well up 

 into them. The temperature was cooler, and 

 snow was whitening the earth. When I was well 

 up to the silver lining of the clouds, a gust of 

 wind momentarily rent them, and I stood amid 

 snow-covered statuary, leaning monoliths 

 and shattered minarets all weird and enchant- 

 ing in the moonlight. A few seconds later I was 

 in darkness and snowstorm again. 



The gulch steepened and apparently grew 

 shallower. Occasionally a mass of mud or a few 

 small stones rolled from the sides of the gulch 

 to my feet and told that saturation was at work 

 dissolving and loosening anchorages and found- 

 ations. It was time to get out of the gulch. While 

 I was making haste to do so, there came a sud- 

 den tremor instantly followed by an awful 

 crash and roar. Then r-r-rip! z-zi-ip! s-w-w-r-r-ip! 

 A bombardment of flying, bounding, plunging 

 rocks from an overturned cliff above was raking 



231 



