260 AFRICAN ADVENTURE STORIES 



'Where am I going to land, would it be at 

 the bottom of some deep crevasse or out on a 

 harmless tract of snow? 



"Gradually my speed began to slacken, for 

 I was nearing the foot of the incline. Working 

 the shotgun strap over my shoulder, I gripped 

 the gun-barrels in my left hand, seized the 

 pistol-grip in the other, and throwing the stock 

 of the gun under my right arm, I bore down on 

 it with all my weight. The sharp rubber heel- 

 plate cut through the crust and finally brought 

 me to a full stop. 



"Where could I be? The drift on which I 

 had been travelling when I fell extended on 

 eastward, fully half a mile beyond the hard 

 snow I had attempted to cross. I could not 

 have wandered that far before losing my way, 

 therefore I must have gone too far to the 

 right and tobogganed down the very snow- 

 bank that I had circled during the afternoon. 

 In other words, I had taken a short cut to the 

 exact position I was seeking the middle of the 

 drift where I had first stepped upon the snow. 



"There was nothing to do now but to wait 

 for Brown to come, provided he did come. I 

 had lost all count of time but felt that it must 



