A JOURNEY OF PERIL. 425 



by a high wall of ice, which entirely cut off the valley. We 

 made a halt to see if we could find any means of advance, in 

 order to avoid driving the long distance back again ; but the ice 

 was absolutely perpend^lar and inaccessible to any being 

 without wings. 



Suddenly it occurred to me that somewhere or other the river 

 must have an outlet; there might perhaps be a tunnel through 

 which we could pass, and on looking behind a massive snow-drift 

 I really saw a big hole, which, on investigation, proved to be the 

 beginning of a very large tunnel which pierced the glacier. A 

 journey through it, however, did not seem very alluring: from 

 the roof were suspended big blocks of ice which might fall at any 

 moment ; and indeed a good many had already done so during 

 the course of the winter, for on the polished river-ice lay masses 

 of blocks, large and small, which pointed an unequivocal warning 

 to the danger of passing that way. 



I confess I did not feel very much tempted by the idea of the 

 journey. I went back to Fosheim and told him what I had 

 seen, adding that we need not decide before we had had something 

 to eat. So we set to work to make some extra good soup, and 

 while it was boiling Fosheim got out the camera and took some 

 photographs of the ice-wall and the tunnel.* When he came 

 back the soup was ready, and we sat down to eat it, one at each 

 end of the sledge, with the cooking-pot between us. 



Not a word was exchanged while we were at work but for 

 that matter we did not usually talk much at meals ; we had 

 enough to do without it. When we had finished, and had lighted 

 our pipes, I concluded we were capable of making a decision, and 

 so asked Fosheim what he thought we ought to do. 



Fosheim waited a little while before he answered; then he 

 took his pipe from the corner of his mouth and said : ' We 

 must try ; it would be the very deuce if we had to drive all that 

 way back ! ' ' Very well,' I answered ; ' then it must be each 

 for himself. It would be curious if a block of ice fell on the 

 heads of both of us ; in any case one must get through.' So off 

 we started. 



* Unfortunately they were all spoiled. 



