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128
SCRAMBLES AMONGST THE ALPS.
chap. v.

but beyond it it was otherwise, and we had always agreed, in our debates, that if it could be passed success was certain. The accompanying outline from a sketch taken from the door of the inn at Breil will help to explain. The letter a indicates the position of the Great Tower; c the "cravate" (the strongly-marked streak of snow referred to on p. 119, and which we just failed to arrive at on

the 26th); b the place where we now saw something that looked like a flag. Behind the point b a nearly level ridge leads up to the foot of the final peak, which will be understood by a reference to the outline facing p. 83, on which the same letters indicate the same places. It was just now said, we considered that if the point c could be passed, success was certain. Tyndall was at b very early in the morning, and I did not doubt that he would reach the summit, although it yet remained problematical whether he would be able to stand on the very highest point. The summit was evidently formed of a long ridge, on which there were two points nearly equally elevated—so equally that one could not say which was the highest—and between the two there seemed to be a deep