PEAKS ANIJ PASSES 385 



survivors of the tcrriljlo catastrophe on the Mattnlioni. 

 wliicli liaJ lia]»]MMi(Ml a few wci^ks before, and of wliieli all 

 iiicirs minds weiv lull. 



Just (lull .lean r)aptiste Croz liad returned from 

 Zenuatt looking ill ;iiid crazed at the loss of his 1) lot her. 

 His grief found vent in lialf-formed accusations against 

 the men who had been willi him at the time of his death. 

 The wild tale found read\' credence among the suspicious 

 Frenchmen, who are always jealous of the German guides. 

 The next nioi'uing our men came to us, and (h'lil)eratelv 

 accused Taugwald of having cut tlie rope on the occasion 

 referred to, at the same time demanding his dismissal 

 They reckoned that we could n(»t do without them, and 

 indeed we should have preferred to retain them, but we 

 coukl not (k'sert Taugwahl in such a strait. Thev were 

 rather astonished wlien we paid tliem olf, but our ^mjuipt 

 action did more than anything else to dispel the cruel 

 rumour, at least in Cliamouni. Cacliat eveiituallv beo-o-ed 

 to be taken on ae-ain. and we allowe(l him id reioin. but in 

 a subordin;ite position. 



In the meanwhile, the resources of civilisation were 

 not exhausted. We jtosted oft" Taugwald to Zermatt. He 

 accomplislied liis missiun in extraordinarilv (piick time, 

 and returned with a tower of strength in llu' person of 

 Jalvub Anderegg. Jakoh was a rougher man tlian Ids 

 betterdcnown relati\-e ^Iclchidr. and with less experience 

 than he, but he was a splendid specimen i)f humanity, 

 with more dash an<l <leteiniinatioii than a nv Swiss I ever 

 knew. lie ari-i\ed ju>t in time foi' another p,irii;il clear- 

 ance of the weather. 



At midniLiht on AuLiu.-t (i, we tfil linm ihe .^eductions 



2 c 



