Harry paced up and down the length of the apartment with lowered
head. Presently he spoke abruptly:
"Paul, I want to know exactly what you think of our chances for
getting out of this."
"Why--" I hesitated. "Harry, I don't know."
"But you've thought about it, and you know something about these
things. What do you think?"
"Well, I think they are slim."
"What are they?"
"Nothing less than miracles. There are just two. First--and
I've spoken of this before--we might find an underground stream
that would carry us to the western slope."
"That is impossible--at least, for Desiree. And the second?"
"Nature herself. She plays queer tricks in the Andes. She might
turn the mountain upside down, in which case we would find
ourselves on top. Seriously, the formation here is such that
almost anything is possible. Upheavals of vast masses of rock are
of ordinary occurrence. A passage might be opened in that way to
one of the lower peaks.
"We are surrounded by layers of limestone, granite, and
quartzite, which are of marked difference both in the quality of
hardness and in their ability to withstand the attacks of time.
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