"I knew you would come back, because you promised, Uncle Fritz."
"Yes, but I shall stay only a day or two. Then I must be off again. There is a little village up in the mountains about twenty miles away. I must go there before the weather grows any colder, for if a big snow-storm should come up it would make hard walking."
"Will you go all the way on foot, uncle?" asked Carl. "I do believe you never ride in a train if you can help it."
Fritz laughed. "I must say I enjoy the walking best. But, anyhow, this time my way lies across country. How would you like to go too? I have to cross a glacier before I get there. Did you ever see a glacier, my boy?"
"No, Uncle Fritz, and I have always longed to do so. O, mother, may I go? I will study hard at school, and make up all the lessons I lose while I am away."
"How long will you be gone, Fritz?" asked his sister.
"Not over three days, if the weather is good; and after that I shall not stay in this part of the country. I am going to Geneva, so it will be Carl's last chance for a long time to go with me."
"IT WAS A RIVER OF SOLID ICE!"
In this way it came to pass that Carl went with his uncle.