I was forced, however, to be constantly on the alert, and my impatience and perplexity may be imagined as hours elapsed and there were still no signs of my approaching deliverance.  The storm had long since passed over, and darkness was settling down when I again felt a pull at the rope, and continued my ascent, begun nearly four hours before.  It was of the utmost importance that the whole party should regain the top of the cliff before night had fairly set in.  I therefore deferred, on my arrival at the ledge, all questions and rebukes till we had gained a place of safety.  The heavy rope, fastened to the cord, was hauled up by the man on the top, and after it had been secured to a tree-stump we swarmed up without loss of time.  We had still before us a somewhat perilous scramble in the darkness down the steep incline, but the exhaustion we had undergone made it necessary that we should first recruit our strength by means of the food and bottle of “Schnapps” with which we were fortunately provided.  While we were thus engaged I received from my companions an account of the causes of the perilous delay.

On receiving my signal they had begun to haul, but after the first pull had felt a sudden jerk, and perceived that the block, supposed to have been securely fastened at the edge of the platform, was gone.  They imagined at first that it had struck and killed me, but my shouts soon apprised them of my safety.  Fearing to continue the process of hauling lest the rope should be cut by the sharp-edged stones, they informed the man on the cliff of the mishap, and despatched him to procure a second block.  He accordingly ran down the slope to the bottom of the mountain, cut a young pine tree, shaped a block, and was in the act of carrying it up when the storm burst forth, and the lightning, playing around him in vivid flashes, cleft and splintered a rock weighing hundreds of tons that had stood within thirty paces of him.  He received no injury except being thrown on the ground and partially stunned by the terrible concussion, but it was not till after a considerable time that he was able to rise and continue his ascent.  Had he been killed, our situation would have been a most precarious one.  There would have been no possibility of regaining the cliff without help, and as our party comprised all the working force of the neighborhood, and Tomerl’s cottage was the only dwelling within fifteen or twenty miles, our chances of rescue would have been extremely slight.

We reached the bottom of the mountain as the upper part was beginning to be lit by the rays of a full moon, and a three hours’ tramp brought us without further mishap to the cottage.  Moidel, forewarned of our return by a series of “jodlers,” a sound which may challenge competition as a joyful acclaim, had prepared an ample supper; and when Tomerl produced his well-tuned “zither,” a species of guitar producing simple but soft and highly musical strains, the mirth was at its height.  Then followed songs eulogistic of the life of the chamois-stalker, who, “with his gun in his hand, a chamois on his back and a girl in his heart,” has no cause to envy a king.  A dance called the “Schuhblatteln,” in which the art consists in touching the soles of one’s shoes with the palm of the hand, finished our evening’s amusement, and we retired, rather worn out, just as day was breaking.