But not only have we plenty of provisions, but we have
a bigger chase on hand today. The chase of a mystery."
"And let us hope," added I, "we do not come back disappointed
hunters."
In the afternoon the whole chain of the Blueridge stretched before us
at a distance of only six miles. The mountain crests were sharply
outlined against the clear sky. Well wooded at the base, they grew
more bare and showed only stunted evergreens toward the summit. There
the scraggly trees, grotesquely twisted, gave to the rocky heights a
bleak and bizarre appearance. Here and there the ridge rose in sharp
peaks. On our right the Black Dome, nearly seven thousand feet high,
reared its gigantic head, sparkling at times above the clouds.
"Have you ever climbed that dome, Mr. Smith?" I asked.
"No," answered he, "but I am told that it is a very difficult ascent.
A few mountaineers have climbed it; but they report that it has no
outlook commanding the crater of the Great Eyrie."
"That is so," said the guide, Harry Horn. "I have tried it myself."
"Perhaps," suggested I, "the weather was unfavorable."
"On the contrary, Mr. Strock, it was unusually clear. But the wall of
the Great Eyrie on that side rose so high, it completely hid the
interior."
"Forward," cried Mr. Smith. "I shall not be sorry to set foot where
no person has ever stepped, or even looked, before.
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