any of the numerous expeditions which are now preparing to sail to those untrodden shores-untrodden, that is, by all save the untutored children of nature. There, haply, in the bosom of a primitive and simplehearted people, we may find the peace that civilized and Christian Europe denieth to her inhabitants." "Be it as thou wilt," said Sivan. "I care not, have already said, whither thou dost direct our steps. But we have a journey of several hours before us. We must set out immediately, or we may be too late to warn Conrad of the peril that is hanging over his head, and the heads of those whom he accounts dearer than himself."

as

I

WHEN the brothers emerged from the hut, they found that the moon had already set, and the clouds which had long been gathering had overspread the greater part of the sky, so that they had to grope their way in almost total darkness. Had less important interests been at stake, Sivan would have postponed their journey until daybreak; but he knew that the delay even of a few minutes might make the difference of life or death to Conrad and his family. He proceeded, therefore, as rapidly as he dared under the circumstances to do, noting as well as he was able, the various landmarks which he had passed on his journey

a few hours before. But the clouds continued to gather as the night advanced, and at last the darkness became so dense, that it was impossible to discern objects even at the distance of a few feet. They could only proceed by feeling their way along the rocky path, which fortunately for them, at that particular point, ran along the bottom of a narrow ravine. Presently signs of an approaching storm began to manifest themselves. Large drops of rain fell at intervals, and the wind, which had hitherto howled fiercely among the gorges of the mountain, suddenly lulled. A few minutes afterwards the elements burst forth into all the fury of an Alpine tempest. The first flash of lightning showed Sivan and his companion that they had missed the right road, and wandered to some spot in the hills which was quite unknown to him. It was impossible to attempt to retrace their steps without the utmost danger, not only to life and limb, but of wandering yet further from the path which they wished to regain. To complete their discomfiture, the rain began to descend in cataracts, threatening them with a new danger from the swelling of some mountain stream, which might rush into the ravine they were now traversing, and carry them away like autumn leaves before the sweep of its waters. Their only resource was to take refuge in a hollow formed by a projecting rock, sufficiently elevated above the pathway to secure them from danger, and there await the cessation of the hurricane.

The scene they beheld from their place of shelter was inconceivably grand and terrible. The sky was now black as ink, now bright with lurid flame; revealing for a moment the jagged peaks of the mountains

in strong relief, and then sinking again into total darkness. The bursts of thunder-mingled with the roar of the avalanches, and here and there with the crash of fragments of rock, dislodged by the concussion, and falling into the abyss beneath them-woke a thousand echoes, which reverberated far off among the cliffs; rendering the din as incessant as it was overpowering. Occasionally a blast of wind would sweep up the ravine with terrific fury, uprooting the pine-trees as it rushed past; and dying off into the distance in shrieks and howls, as though the evil spirits had broken loose from their bondage, and were revealing the secrets of their place of torment. Luigi, to whom the scene was wholly new, was at once awe-struck and terrified by the conflict of the elements, and was with difficulty composed by Sivan's assurances that there was little fear of injury befalling them, and that in an hour or two at latest, the tempest would have spent its fury.

It was daybreak, nevertheless, ere this prediction was fulfilled, and then the early glimmer of morning showed Sivan that he had not been mistaken in the conjecture he had formed during the storm. The ravine in which he found himself, not only lay out of the direct route to Biorno's chalet, but was one which he had never visited before. They instantly set about endeavouring to recover the lost track, but for a long time without success. Sivan's knowledge of the country, it should be remarked, was necessarily very limited, being only derived from the expeditions be had made with Arnold, or Ernest, in the early spring of that year. It was, therefore, little wonder that they soon found themselves involved in inextricable difficulties: the paths they pursued sometimes ending

abruptly on the verge of a precipice, sometimes winding back, by circuitous routes, to the same point from which they had set out. Nearly two hours passed in this manner. The morning sun was visible above the lower ranges of the mountains, and they had not yet discovered the track they sought for. Sivan chafed inwardly at the delay. Every moment was, as he knew, fraught with the most deadly peril to the friends that' had sheltered him; and should a few more hours elapse, before he could succeed in reaching them, his warning would come too late. Suddenly it occurred to him that the path by which he had approached the cave, where they found refuge, might have been broken away during the tempest of the previous night, by the fall of some portion of the cliff along which it had wound; and this conjecture was confirmed by discovering that such a fall had taken place within a few hundred yards of their place of shelter. The only hope now of recovering the lost path was to scale some point of elevation, from which the principal features of the surrounding country might be discerned; and thus they might be enabled to learn at least the direction in which they desired to proceed. By the help of his iron-shod pole, and with Luigi's assistance, Sivan contrived to reach the roots of a large pine-tree; and from its upper boughs to swing himself on to a projecting crag; whose ragged top, standing entirely clear of its neighbours, commanded an uninterrupted view of the adjoining landscape. From this point, he at once descried the road he was in search of, and perceived also that by descending on the other side of the crag, and making a slight detour through the rocks, he could recover it at the distance of a few hundred yards.