After passing an hour on the bald cap of the mountain, sometimes
conversing, at others ruminating on the scene, a change in the weather
induced our party to move. There had been flurries of snow visible all the
morning, but it was in the distance, and among the glittering bergs. Once
the volcano had thus been shut in from view; but now a driving cloud
passed over the mountain itself, which was quickly as white as the pure
element could make it. So heavy was the fall of snow, that it was soon
impossible to see a dozen yards, and of course the whole of the plain of
the island was concealed. At this most inauspicious moment, our
adventurers undertook their descent.

It is always much less dangerous to mount an acclivity than to go down it.
The upward progress is easily enough arrested, while that in the other
direction is frequently too rapid to be under perfect command. Roswell
felt the truth of this, and would have proposed a delay until the
atmosphere became clear again, but it struck him that this was not likely
to occur very soon. He followed Daggett, therefore, though reluctantly,
and with due caution. Stimson brought up the rear.

For the first ten minutes our adventurers got along without any great
difficulty. They found the precise point at which they had reached the
summit of the mountain, and began to descend. It was soon apparent that
great caution must be used, the snow rendering the footing slippery,
Daggett, however, was a bold and hot-blooded man when in motion, and he
preceded the party some little distance, calling out to those behind him
to come on without fear. This the last did, though it was with a good deal
more caution than was observed by their leader. At length, all three
reached a spot where it seemed they could not overcome the difficulties.
Beneath them was the smooth face of a rock already covered with snow,
while they could not see far enough in advance to ascertain in what this