212 The Hunting IVasps 



and watch the sunrise. The rain had stopped, 

 the sky was glorious, promising a perfect day. 



During the ascent some of us felt a sort of 

 seasickness, caused first by fatigue and secondly 

 by the rarefaction of the air. The barometer 

 had fallen 5-4 inches ; the air which we were 

 breathing had lost a fifth of its density and was 

 therefore one-fifth less rich in oxygen. Had we 

 been in good condition, this slight alteration in 

 the air would have passed unnoticed ; but, 

 coming immediately after the exertions of the 

 day before and a sleepless night, it increased our 

 discomfort. And so we climbed slowly, with 

 aching legs and panting chests. More than one 

 of us had to stop and rest after every twentieth 

 step. 



At last we were there. We took refuge in the 

 rustic chapel of Sainte-Croix to take breath and 

 counteract the nipping morning air by a pull 

 at the gourd, which this time was drained to 

 the last drop. Soon the sun rose. Ventoux 

 projected to the extreme limits of the horizon 

 its triangular shadow, whose sides became 

 brightly tinged with violet by the effect of the 

 diffracted rays. To the south and west 

 stretched misty plains, where, when the sun 

 was higher in the heavens, we should be able to 

 make out the Rhone, looking like a silver thread. 

 On the north and east, under our feet, lay an 



