Page:My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus.djvu/291

242 slightly, and preferred to scale some wet and slimy rocks. After many efforts and much perching of ice-axes, we managed to force our way on to the path known as the Mauvais Pas above the obstruction. Collie meanwhile gazing on our performance with mild sorrow, his attitude suggesting the question, "Why should men with dry and fairly

decorous knickerbockers sacrifice them on the altar of water and slime, when fifteen feet of descent would have enabled them to follow a dry and convenient road?"