boys and their father
Over and Through the Mountains.
train gong up mountain
Slowly, slowly up the mountain crept the long train. It was carrying the Overall Boys far away from lovely Lake Lucerne. It was taking them over the wonderful Brünig Pass. It was carrying them even more slowly down, down the steep slope on the other side toward the head of the deep valley, where lay the pretty Swiss village of Meiringen.
Stone trestle bridgesThey glided over high bridges
They glided over high bridges
As the boys stood by the car window they could see the long line of track far below them. Sometimes when their train passed a sharp curve, they could even see the engine at one end of the train and the last car at the other end.
They glided over high bridges above torrents of water which dashed down the mountain to join the blue lake in the valley below.
It was wonderful—the mountains, the torrents, the lakes, and the strong train which carried them over everything! It was all so wonderful, the boys had no words to express their delight. For the first time on their long journey they were almost silent.
Once in a while one of the boys would cry: "Look at that great waterfall!" or "See the precipice right below us!" or "Watch us cross that high bridge!"
It was much more exciting than the ride in the thunder storm up Mount Rigi, but at last even this ride came to an end.
Yes, the wonderful ride over the Brünig Pass ended at Meiringen, but the more wonderful tramp over the Great Scheidegg Pass was to begin at Meiringen, and the boys were to have other strange experiences down in the deep, green valley. The most exciting of them all came the very next morning.
There was an early breakfast eaten in the pretty garden of the hotel, then their father said:
"Now for the fun! Yesterday we wentovera mountain. To-day we shall gothroughone."
boys looking out windows of trainThe boys had no words to express their delight
The boys had no words to express their delight
"Are we going through a tunnel?" cried Joe.
"No, indeed!" said their father. "At least it is not a tunnel made by men. Come and see what you think of it."
They were soon tramping along the village street toward the high mountain at the head of the narrow valley. A swift river hurried past them to join the lake at the other end of the valley. It was the river Aar.
The boys saw where the river had overflowed its banks in the springtime, when the snows melted and the heavy rains came. They were told that the bridges were often washed away, and that sometimes great masses of rocks came tearing down the mountain side, right into the little village, crushing and burying everything in their path.
The party quickly left the village far behind them, and each step brought them nearer to the high mountain wall close ahead.
"How shall we get over that mountain, father?" asked Joe. "Shall we have to climb to the top?"
"No, Joe," said his father. "We shall do no climbing to-day. I believe we can go through it, if this swift river can."
"Of course we can!" shouted Jack. "Let's follow the river."
So they followed a footpath along the banks of the noisy river. Soon the banks began to grow high and steep. At last they rose straight up on both sides, until the boys could see only a narrow strip of blue sky far above them.
"The mountain has cracked open!" shouted Joe. "We are in the crack!"
"So we are!" cried Jack. "I believe the river did it. See it come tearing along!"
boys between very high cliffsThe path through the mountain
The path through the mountain
"Look ahead of us!" said Joe. "There isn't room even for a path. A board walk has been fastened with iron rods to the wall. It hangs right over the rushing water. What if it should break while we are on it! I am not sure that I want to go any farther."
"Come, now, don't be a coward, Joe," said his father. "The Swiss government builds these paths, and they are built strong. We are safe."
So on they tramped through the great crack in the mountain. In some places the path hung high over the swift waters. In other places it was tunneled through the dark rocks. But always it followed the deep, narrow crack, with the noisy river at its bottom and a bit of blue sky far, far above.
For nearly a mile the boys followed this path. In many places the river was so noisy they had to shout to make each other hear. But at last they came out on the other side of the mountain.
They had not climbed the mountain, and they had not gone around it. They had gonethroughit. And more wonderful still, the great river Aar has been carrying its waters through the mountain for ages and ages.
Close beside the river, at the end of the path, was a tiny shop kept by a little old woman and her granddaughter.
The little girl served the boys to raspberry lemonade, and she sold them picture post cards showing the strange path over which they had just come.
Then back they went into the mountain crack—over the footpath hanging high above the rushing water, and through the small, dark tunnels, until once more they were in the lovely green valley of Meiringen.
village
Real Trampers.
hiking again
Next morning the boys were up with the sun, for there was a long journey ahead of them. It was not to be a journey by train nor by boat. It was to be a journey on foot.
The party was to follow a trail over the high mountain range which shuts in the deep valley of the river Aar on the south. The trail would lead them over the Great Scheidegg Pass and down into the beautiful valleys on the other side.
They were going to spend at least a week on the way. There would be so many interesting things to see and to do, they would not want to hurry.
The boys carried knapsacks on their backs, in which they put the few things they wouldneed while crossing the mountains. They were real trampers at last.
hiknig on path with fences on either sideThey carried knapsacks on their backs, in which they put the few things they would need while crossing the mountains
They carried knapsacks on their backs, in which they put the few things they would need while crossing the mountains
The first part of the trail was very steep. The little party climbed up and up, until the village, far below them, looked very small indeed.
After awhile they heard a strange rumbling noise, which grew louder and louder the higher they climbed. Soon it became a roar, and right above their path they saw a tremendous waterfall tumbling down over the steep mountain side.It fairly made the rocks tremble, it fell with such force, and the air was filled with a fine, wet spray.
The boys sprang up the path close beside the great waterfall. When they reached the top of it they were a very wet but a very jolly party.
"Well, that's the most fun we have had yet!" shouted Joe. "I should like to do it right over again."
"I shouldn't," said a little girl who was standing near by. "I have to come up here every few days. I don't like to get so wet."
"Why do you come up so often?" asked Jack.
"I go down to the village to buy bread for mother. I live up here. That is our chalet up there by the brook. My name is Gretel."
"Do you go down to the village to school, too?" asked Joe.
"Yes," answered the little girl. "But this is vacation time now. I often take another path when I go to school. Sometimes I ridehome on that big car, which helps me up the mountain as far as the waterfall."
"Do you go to school all winter?" asked Jack.
"Oh, yes! except when the snow is so deep I just can't get there. All of us girls and boys have to go to school forty weeks every year. I am glad we do. I like to go to school."
"Please let us carry that basket of bread for you," said Jack. "I think our path goes right by your house."
So the children walked on up the path together, and Gretel told the boys many interesting things about her life on the mountain alp.
"I always thought a Swiss alp was a high mountain peak," said Joe.
"Oh, no! An alp is a lovely mountain meadow," said Gretel. "See what a fine great alp ours is. This is one of the low alps. Father raises lots of hay here to feed the cows during the long winter."
"Where are your cows now?" asked Jack.
House in mountainsGretel's home was a pretty, brown chalet, whose roof was covered with large stones to keep it from being blown away
Gretel's home was a pretty, brown chalet, whose roof was covered with large stones to keep it from being blown away
"They are feeding farther up on the higher alps," said Gretel. "Father takes them up early every summer, and they don't come down until fall."
"Do you think we shall see them on our way over the mountains?" asked Joe.
"Yes, I am sure you will," said Gretel. "Your path goes right across the alp where father's little cabin is. My two brothers, Franz and Sep, are up there with father now.They take care of the goats, and help to milk the cows and make the cheese. I wish I were up there, too!"
"Why can't you go up with us?" asked Jack. "You could surprise your father and brothers."
"Oh, I should love to go!" cried Gretel. "I could stay with them in their little cabin for a few days, then Franz would bring me home, I know he would. I will ask mother if I may go. See, this is our chalet."
It was a pretty, brown chalet. The broad, low roof was covered with many large stones to keep it from being blown away during the great winter storms.
But now it was the lovely summer time, and Gretel's mother had set two small tables just outside her front door. She always had something good to serve to hungry trampers To-day there was a big bowl of delicious wild strawberries on each of the tables.
Of course the Overall Boys were suddenly very hungry. And how they enjoyed the breadand butter and wild strawberries and cream which Gretel's mother served to them!
tables in yard, boys looking at them with lady and girlAfter the tea party was over, Gretel showed them yards and yards of lace she was making
After the tea party was over, Gretel showed them yards and yards of lace she was making
After the tea party was over, Gretel showed them the lace which she was making. There were yards and yards of it. The boys thought it was wonderful to see Gretel move the bobbins of thread so quickly over the big pillow, and never make mistakes in the pattern.
"I have been making lace ever since I was five years old," said Gretel. "I sell enough laceevery summer to pay for all of my clothes."
"Oh, Gretel, will you sell some to us?" asked Joe. "We don't wear lace ourselves, but the Sunbonnet Babies do. They would love to wear some of your lace."
"And I should love to have them wear it. Of course I will sell you some," said Gretel.
Then the boys chose some of the very prettiest lace Gretel had made, and bought it for the Sunbonnet Babies.
"Now I want to show you where my bees live," said Gretel. And she led the boys up the hill behind her house where, under some great trees, was a row of tiny chalets.
"This is my bee village," she said. "Each bee family has a little chalet of its own. The bees fly all over our alp, gathering nectar from the flowers. Sometimes they fly very far away, hunting for more flowers, but they always come back again, bringing their baskets full of nectar.
"They work so hard, they fill their little houses brim full of honey every summer. I am sure we couldn't live without our bees. Somesummers they earn more money than father can."
"There must be millions of bees in Switzerland to make so much honey," said Jack. "I believe every family here eats honey for breakfast. In America we eat cereal. I think honey is much nicer."
lady doing handwork
On the trial
another alpine house in mountains
"Come, boys!" called their father. "It is time to go on. Gretel's mother says she may go with us as far as her father's cabin. We shall give Franz and Sep a fine surprise."
"Oh, goody!" cried Gretel. "I haven't seen Franz and Sep since they took the cows up the mountain in the spring."
"Tell us about it, Gretel," said Jack. "What happens when the cows go up the mountain?"
"Why, that is the jolliest day of the whole year," said Gretel, "except, perhaps, the day when they all come home in the fall.
"Father ties big bells around the necks of the prettiest cows, and mother and I trim their horns with flowers. Then the processionbegins. This year Sep led the procession with his seven little goats. He was the proudest boy that ever went up the mountain.
following goatsSep led the procession with his seven little goats
Sep led the procession with his seven little goats
"The cows know what it means when the bells are tied to their necks. The summer on the alps is a long picnic for them. Mother and I go up a little way with the procession. Other families take their cows up the mountain the same day, and we sing and have a jolly time."
"Do you send all of your cows up to the higher alps in the spring?" asked Jack."Where did you get the delicious cream that your mother gave us to-day?"
"We keep one cow at home to give us milk and cream during the summer," said Gretel. "I am always sorry for the poor cow that is left behind, she is so lonesome. We have to tie her very carefully, or she runs away. She keeps going until she finds her friends 'way up the mountain. Then, of course, father or one of the boys must bring her down again."
"Oh, Gretel, when your brothers see you coming they will think you have run away because you are so lonesome without them," said Joe, laughing.
"Well, they must keep me a week before they take me home, or I shall run away again," said Gretel. "Iamlonesome without them."
And so they talked, as they tramped along together up the mountain trail. Once they met a man with a large milk can on his back. The man greeted the party with a friendly, "Guten Tag! Glückliche Reise!" This was his way ofsaying, "Good day! A happy journey!" So the boys quickly answered, "Danke schön!" which means, "Thank you kindly!"
wating for man with milk can to passOnce they met a man with a large milk can on his back
Once they met a man with a large milk can on his back
Every day this man carried his can full of milk down the mountain to sell to the people who had no cows. He always greeted the strangers whom he passed on the way, and wished them a happy journey.
On and on, and up and up the little party tramped. At last they began to see snowbanks, in shaded places near the trail. Sometimes,just below a large snowbank, they found a sunny spot covered with a carpet of lovely summer flowers. There were violets and buttercups and daisies and forget-me-nots, and low bushes of small red alpine roses.
These little wild gardens were watered all summer by the melting snows. The gay flowers seemed to like the icy water at their roots.
The Overall Boys often stopped for a snowball battle with each other and with Gretel. Then from some mountain garden, they picked fresh flowers for their hats, and on they tramped.
Their trail led them below a large glacier, which lay between two high mountain peaks not far away. The boys could hear the great ice river twisting and turning in its bed, for the hot summer sun made it very uncomfortable.
Once there came a loud boom, like a cannon. The boom was followed by a crash, and the crash by a long, loud rumbling noise, which gradually died away.
"Oh, Gretel, what was that?" cried Joe. "I believe it was an earthquake."
Mountain in backgroundOne of the mountain alps they crossed
One of the mountain alps they crossed
"Oh, no! That was not an earthquake," said Gretel, laughing. "That was a piece of the glacier breaking off. It must have had a long fall before it found a place where it could stop."
"I am glad it couldn't fall in this direction," said Jack. "I thought I wanted to take a walk on a glacier, but I am not so sure about it now."
"Oh, yes, you must!" said Gretel. "It is lots of fun. I have been up to that glacier twice with father. There are great cracks init, so deep you can hardly see the bottom of them. It is perfectly safe to go with father. He often takes Americans up there."
"Well, I think I should rather take a walk on some other glacier. I am afraid this one is going to pieces," said Joe.
"No, it isn't!" said Gretel, laughing at Joe again. "The glacier melts and moves a little every summer, but a great deal of fresh snow falls on it every winter. I guess it will last as long as the mountains do."
lady, girl and cow
The Herdsman's Cabin.
meal with much cheese
It was late afternoon before the trampers reached the green alp where Gretel's father and brothers were pasturing their cows.
It was milking time. Franz and his father were milking the big, brown cows near the cabin. Sep was milking his goats. The pigs were eating their supper of skimmed milk, and Barry, the dog, was keeping his eye on them all.
It was Barry who first saw the trampers, and away he bounded to meet them. His bark was very fierce until Gretel called him by name, then he almost wagged his tail off, he was so glad to see her. He was even glad to see the strangers, because they had brought Gretel with them.
Franz and Sep and their father were justas happy as Barry to see their little Gretel and her strange friends from America.
milking cowsIt was milking time, and Franz and his father were milking the big, brown cows near the cabin
It was milking time, and Franz and his father were milking the big, brown cows near the cabin
Soon they were all eating supper together, sitting around a rough table in the small cabin. It was a simple supper, but the hungry boys thought they never had eaten a nicer one. There was a long loaf of bread, and a great round cheese with holes all through it, and a dish of wild strawberries, and a pitcher of warm milk.
While they were eating, they suddenly heardthe clear, sweet notes of a horn. The sound came from the high mountain above the cabin. In a moment the same notes came more softly from the mountain on the other side of the alp, and again still more softly they came.
herdsman blowing hornThen the herdsman took his great horn, which was taller than himself, and blew a few long, clear notes on it in answer
Then the herdsman took his great horn, which was taller than himself, and blew a few long, clear notes on it in answer
"What is that?" cried Joe.
"It is my neighbor, who pastures his cows on the alp above us," said Gretel's father. "He is blowing his great horn to tell us that the sun is just setting behind that snow-coveredpeak. I must answer him, so he may know that all is well with us."
Then the herdsman took his great horn, which was taller than himself, and went out in front of his cabin. He blew a few long, clear notes, which meant, he said, "Praise ye the Lord." Again and again the same notes came back in echo from the mountain walls, each time more softly.
The snow-covered peaks were no longer white, but glowing red from the rays of the setting sun. Then darkness came on very quickly.
The tired travelers were glad to find a small inn on the alp where they could spend the night. Of course Gretel stayed with her father and brothers in their little cabin.
There were only two rooms in the cabin. The larger room belonged to the cows. They came in here to be milked in stormy weather. In the other room the family cooked and ate and made their cheeses. Their bedroom was a low balcony over one end of this room, and they reached it by climbing up a short ladder.
with Sep and his goatsEarly the next morning Jack and Joe went with Sep and his goats up the rocky mountain side
Early the next morning Jack and Joe went with Sep and his goats up the rocky mountain side
Next morning the boys were wakened early by Sep calling to them outside of their window.
"Oh, Jack and Joe," he called, "come with me. I have to take my goats up the mountain to their pasture. There is something fine up there that I want to show you."
So Jack and Joe went with Sep and his goats up the rocky mountain side. It was a hard climb, but it was fun.
The little goats could climb anywhere. Theywent into dangerous places where the cows could not go, and they found many tender bits of grass to eat.
When the boys had climbed very high, Sep crept carefully out on a narrow shelf of rock. He lay face downward and reached far over the edge. The mountain side was very steep below him.
"Watch me, boys!" he cried. "But don't you come too near."
Then, very carefully, he picked a small, furry, white flower which was growing on the steep, rocky wall. He picked another and another of the flowers, until his hand was full of them.
"There now!" he cried. "You know my secret. I have shown you where my edelweiss grows. It grows only in the most dangerous places on the high mountains. I pick a few of the flowers every day, when they are in bloom, to sell to travelers who cross our alp, but you are the only people I have ever brought up here to see them growing."
flowersEdelweiss
Edelweiss
"Oh, thank you, Sep!" cried Jack. "We'llnever, never tell your secret. But please let us pick a few of the flowers ourselves."
So each of the boys carried down the mountain a handful of the proud little flowers which they had picked themselves.
The Overall Boys were real mountain climbers at last, for only mountain climbers ever find and pick the edelweiss.
When the boys reached the cabin, Sep's father was watching a great kettle of milk, over an open fire. He had put more than a hundred quarts of milk into the copper kettle, with a little rennet to make it turn into curd.
Herdsmen make their rennet by soaking a calf's stomach in water or in whey; they then save this liquid to use in making their cheeses.
Sep's father stirred and watched the milk inhis great copper kettle until the curd began to form. He then swung the kettle away from the fire, and put both bare arms into the warm milk. He worked the cheese into one large lump, and lifted it out on a great tray, where he worked it still more to squeeze out the milk.
Inside a dairySep's father stirred and watched the milk in his great copper kettle until the curd began to form
Sep's father stirred and watched the milk in his great copper kettle until the curd began to form
It was then put into a round, wooden press a few days. Each day the press was opened and the cheese rubbed with salt.
When it was just right, it would be taken out and laid on a shelf in the small cheese house, where all the cheeses were kept until they could be carried down the mountain and sold. But they were not really good to eat until they were at least six months old.
Sep's father made one of these cheeses every day, and he made cheeses from his goats' milk, too. He and his boys lived a busy life on the mountain. They had no time to be lonesome.
The Overall Boys told Franz and Sep how they often had Swiss cheese for dinner in America. They said when they got home again they should certainly tell their grocer just how his big Swiss cheeses were made.
Rolling churn
A Summer Blizzard.
hiking to another building in the mountains
The travelers spent two happy days with their friends in the herdsman's cabin. They would like to have spent the rest of the summer with them. Jack and Joe would like to have learned how to milk the goats and how to blow the great alpine horn.
But there were many other things which they wanted to do and to see in this wonderful little country of Switzerland, so they shouldered their knapsacks and started once more on the trail.
The way soon became steep and rocky. Gray clouds hid the snow-covered peaks. The wind blew cold, and the boys were glad of the hard climb to keep themselves warm.
They crossed one or two small alps wherecows were feeding, and they stopped at a tiny cabin to ask for a drink of milk.
three boys and a kettleIn the cabin they found a small boy watching a large kettle of milk over an open fire
In the cabin they found a small boy watching a large kettle of milk over an open fire
In the cabin they found a small boy, who was watching a large kettle of milk over an open fire. The boy said that his father had gone up the mountain to hunt for a lost cow, so he was making cheese from his goats' milk.
The Overall Boys were quite sure that they would be lonesome, if they had to stay away up there all alone. But this little boy whistledand sang and talked with his goats, calling them each by name. They really were having a jolly time together.
three boys and some goatsThe boy and the goats had jolly times together
The boy and the goats had jolly times together
After the good drink of milk the travelers tramped on and up, while the gray clouds dropped lower and the wind grew colder. Soon fine white flakes began to frisk through the air and to dance on the boys' cheeks.
"Oh, Jack," called Joe, "it is snowing!"
"So it is!" shouted Jack. "It's snowing! It'sreally snowing, and it's summer time! Hurrah!"
The white flakes fell faster and thicker. In a few moments they were falling so fast and so thick the trampers could see only a short way ahead of them. It was hard climbing now. The path was steep and slippery. The boys had to stop often to get their breath, and their knapsacks suddenly grew very heavy.
"I suppose it is because we are up so high," said Jack. "The air is so thin up here we can't get enough of it to breathe. It is always like that on the high mountains, they say."
"I don't care," said Joe. "We are in a snow blizzard, anyhow. Just think of it!"
"I shouldn't care to lose our path," said Jack. "I guess it wouldn't be a very happy night for us if we did."
"Oh, Jack, I have lost the path already! I can hardly see you. My! How it snows! Where are father and mother?"
"Here we are!" shouted their father. "I think we are near the top of the Pass. I hear a dog barking. There is a house up at the top, wherewe can stay all night. Keep climbing, boys!"
Just then a great dog came bounding down the mountain toward them. He gave a short, quick bark, turned about and led the party safely up to the small hotel. Then away he bounded again to find other travelers, who might be lost in the snow and who needed his help. He was a St. Bernard dog, and he had saved the lives of many people on the high mountains.
It was a tired party that spent the night in the little hotel at the top of the Great Scheidegg Pass, but when morning came they were ready for another battle with the snow.
Of course the trail was covered, and the snow was too soft and too deep for them to tramp over it without snowshoes. The little party was snow-bound on the mountains in midsummer.
But the Overall Boys liked being snow-bound. They built a fine snow fort, with snow soldiers in it, and piles of snow cannon balls to keep enemies away from the little hotel.
The St. Bernard dog had a jolly time, too. Once he jumped against one of the snow soldiers,and over they went together. After that he seemed to be afraid of the soldiers and would not go near the fort, but ran around it, barking loudly.
the boys and dog building little snowmenThe Overall Boys and the dog enjoying the snow
The Overall Boys and the dog enjoying the snow
Next morning the boys were out early to take a look at things.
"Oh, Jack," shouted Joe, "it froze in the night! There is a hard crust over everything!"
"So there is!" said Jack. "We don't need snowshoes now. We can go down the mountain on the crust."
And that is what they did. With the St. Bernard dog to show them the way, the party hurried down over the snow before the warm sun had time to soften the crust.
As they went lower, the snow rapidly grew less. Soon the boys saw lovely bluebells and alpine roses and other flowers holding their heads bravely up through the thin, white blanket.
A few moments later their own trail came in sight. It was no longer hidden by the snow. The St. Bernard dog gave a loud bark, wagged his tail, and bounded back up the mountain. His work for that party was done.
dog
Exploring a Glacier.
walking on a glacier
The rest of the way down the mountain was easy tramping.
The path soon led by the end of the great Upper Wetterhorn Glacier, and the Overall Boys begged their father to let them explore it.
"All right," said their father. "Just step into this small car and we will go on an exploring trip."
Before the boys knew what was happening, the tiny square car rose from the ground and began moving slowly upward, following the steep slope of the mountain.
"Oh, Jack, where are we going?" cried Joe. "This car is built bottom side up. The wheels are on the top of it, instead of on the bottom."
"That's so!" exclaimed Jack. "We arehanging in the air on a cable. It is lifting us right up the mountain side. And look away up there! Another car just like this one is coming down. My! Do you suppose we shall go as high as that?"
riding an aerial tram"We are hanging in the air on a cable," Jack exclaimed. "It is lifting us right up the mountain side"
"We are hanging in the air on a cable," Jack exclaimed. "It is lifting us right up the mountain side"
"I hope so," said Joe. "But see what is below us. It is the glacier! Look at the great cracks in it. Do you hear that noise, Jack? It sounds like thunder."
"I guess it is only another crack burstingopen," said Jack. "This hot sun makes the glacier move faster, and so it cracks open."
Up, up, climbed the car, right over the glacier, until it came to a wild goat's path on a narrow shelf of the mountain, more than twelve hundred feet above the starting point.
Here it slipped into a small station, and everybody stepped out. Other people took their places, and then the car moved slowly downward, leaving the boys on the steep mountain side.
"My! That was great!" cried Jack. "Now what are we going to do?"
"We are going to walk across the glacier, aren't we, father?" said Joe.
"Of course we are. We have come up here to explore it, you know," said their father.
And they did explore 'way across the great ice river. In many places they had to walk very carefully, or they would have fallen into one of the deep cracks, but at last they came safely to the other side. There was no car on this side of the glacier to carry them down the mountain, but there were long ladders to helpthem over the very hardest and steepest places.
boys climbing a ladder up the side of a crevasseThere was no car on this side of the glacier, but there were long ladders to help them over the steepest places
There was no car on this side of the glacier, but there were long ladders to help them over the steepest places
They had to climb over great ridges of rocks, which the glacier had torn away from the higher mountains years and years before. These rocks had been brought slowly down on the ice, and dropped along the sides and end of the glacier.
At last the party came to the place where the sun and the warm winds changed the glacier from a river of ice to a river of water.
"Well, boys," said their father, "we havehad a look at the outside of the glacier; now let us take a look at the inside of it." So a man threw warm blankets over their shoulders, and they entered a long, narrow passage through a hole in the ice wall.
This passage led into a beautiful, blue ice room. The floor was ice, the walls were ice, and the ceiling was ice. There was no lamp in the room, and yet it was not dark.
"Isn't it beautiful!" cried Joe. "Think of it, we are in the center of a great ice river. There is nothing but ice all around us."
"I know it," said Jack. "I am sure the glaciers are the most wonderful things in Switzerland, but I have stayed inside of this one as long as I want to. I should rather be tramping."
flowers