264 



CHAPTEE XX. 



UP THE MOUNTAIN. 



THE following day I was up by a quarter-past three. 

 The morning was fine and warm, and the stars were 

 shining with wonderful brightness. Neuner just en- 

 tered, as I went into the little room below to get my 

 breakfast. 



" There is my rifle, Neuner ; be so good as to load 

 it, while I drink this cup of coffee. In the rucksack 

 you will find the powder-horn and balls ; here is the 

 measure for the powder. I shall have breakfasted in 

 a minute, and then we '11 be off : this half brown loaf 

 we may as well take with us." 



We sallied forth into the darkness. As we crossed 

 the fields in the valley, the forms of the nearer moun- 

 tains could be just made out, inasmuch as the gloom 

 above was not quite so impenetrable as that which 

 shrouded their sides and base. Now came the grey 

 dawn, and then the ever-cheering daybreak, accom- 

 panied by that wonderful breath, moving through the 



