He looked up to right and left at the walls of black rock growing higher the farther they went, and now quite made up his mind that there would be no exit from the gorge; but all the same, it had a peculiar fascination for both, from its seeming to be a place where the foot of man had never before trod, and the possibility of their making some discovery deep in among the black rocks of the weird chasm.
“Tired? Shall we turn back?” said Dale from time to time.
“Oh no! let’s go a little farther. This ought to be the sort of place to find crystals, oughtn’t it?”
“I can’t give you any information, my lad, about that; only that I have seen no sign of any. Say when you want to turn back.”
“All right. Oh! look here!”
The chasm had made another turn, and as Saxe spoke he climbed on a little farther, so as to make room for his companion to join him among the fragments of broken rock upon which he stood. And there, right before them, the walls seemed to run together in the side of a black mass of rock, which formed the base of a snowy peak, one which they recognised as having often seen, and now looking the more brilliant in contrast with the black rock from which it rose.
“We could get there in another quarter of an hour,” said Saxe.
“Yes; but what good shall we do when we get there?” replied Dale. “You see that the rocks to right and left are not to be scaled, or that this place ends in a mere gash or split.”
“But you never know till you get close up,” said Saxe. “The rocks fold over one another; so that we may after all find a way out and over the mountain.”
“Well, if you are not too tired we’ll try. This stream must come from somewhere. Hear it?”