CHAPTER XX
A TRIAL CLIMB
"To die be given us, or attain
Fierce work it were to do again."
So pilgrims bound for Mecca, pray'd
At burning noon: so warriors said,
Scarf'd with the cross, who watched the miles
Of dust that wreathed their struggling files
Down Lydian mountains: so when snows
Round Alpine summits eddying rose
The Goth bound Rome-wards. So pray all
Whom labours self ordain'd enthrall.
Matthew Arnold.
By Wednesday the 22nd the Hermitage folk were once more leading a normal existence, and all the excitements of the flood a thing of the past. As the weather was fine we decided to make an attempt at Tuckett's Col, and from there gain a close view of the Sefton top rocks, to obtain some idea if it were possible to attack them in the near future. The Hermitage was now filling up with climbers, all anxious to secure guides, except those lucky individuals who had brought one with them, and I began to wonder how I was going to fare when I wanted a second guide for Sefton, I had been negotiating with Alex Graham ever since my arrival, but one obstacle after another had cropped up to prevent him joining me, and I began to feel rather hopeless about ever securing him. However, I determined to make one last appeal after we had been to Tuckett's Col and could definitely state when we expected to make the attempt.
