 Take one man who made a bargain with himself, add the soft voice of a woman, and a windswept mountain. That's our story, Shadow on the Snow, taken from the files of John Steele, Adventurer. This is John Steele. We're back again to bring you another story of suspense and action. So sit back, relax if you can, and listen. This week's tale takes us to the towering peaks of the Swiss Alps, where a good friend of mine lived. A story of very strange mood. But before I start telling it myself, suppose we turn the meeting over to Johnny Martin. He's the fellow who lived it, and here he is to tell it. Johnny? Where do you begin a story like mine? I don't know. Maybe I should go back to the war when I first came to Switzerland on leave. Rehabilitation leave, I think they call it. I remember how hungry I was for the sight of a city that wasn't gutted by bombs, and for the smile of a people who hadn't known fear or want. And I remember how I hated going back to the army, and all that that meant. I promised myself that someday I'd come back to Switzerland, and I did. Yeah, that's where I'll start it. I came back to Switzerland and I found Vreny. Vreny with her strong hands and her clear eyes. We met, fell in love, and were married all in a couple of months. We rented a small chalet high in the hills outside Zermatt. During the summers, I'd help my friend Franz pull the tourists up and down the peaks around us. During the winters, we ran a little shop in the village that Vreny's father had left him. And that went on for three or four years, and we were happy. Finally, you've gotten up. I can't get this thing started. You're half asleep. Yeah, I guess so. I will do it. Go wash your face and comb your hair. Where have you been so early? I've been down to the village and back before you even get your eyes open. What's all the excitement? Nothing. Well, there must be something up. If I wait for you to go to the post office, it will be noon. Any mail? Nothing important. You see, you could have waited till noon to find that out. How's that coffee coming? It will be ready. Go say good morning to the mountain. Oh, what a day. I saw Franz in the village. Oh, how was the old mountain goat? He has some more tourists for tomorrow. Americans? No. Oh, okay. He wants you to help him. Sure. He wants you to meet him at the inn. Are you listening, Johnny? Oh, sure, I'm listening. What is the matter? Nothing, nothing, honey. You had such a sad look in your eyes. Me? Ah. You were thinking of your country? No, I was admiring our mountain. Oh. Isn't that a beauty? Some day we're going to climb that. Just you and me. Franz would laugh at you? No, we will. Wait and see. All right, we will. We will conquer the Weisshorn all alone. You bet. The coffee? I hope it's not too strong. No, no, no, no. When you are finished, I have a surprise for you. I knew you were up to something. Go on, drink. Okay. There, now, what's the surprise? In a moment. It's the pictorial from there. So what? Open it up. Okay. Why all the mystery? It is always two or three weeks old by the time it reaches us. But... Braini. Do you like... Why? I sent them in months ago. Why did you do it? I thought it would please you. Well, you shouldn't have. But... You think I want my picture plastered all over Europe? I'm sorry. You shouldn't have done this. What time is it? You shouldn't have done it, that's all. The first time you've been angry with me. I'm sorry. The magazine said send in your pictures. I know. You look so funny with the alibis in your hand. Please, Braini, I said I was sorry. It's all right, Johnny. I will not do it again. I felt like I'd broken a child's toy. Well, nothing else was said about it. And in two or three weeks, the incident was forgotten. But I couldn't forget the hurt look in Braini's eyes. And then one day, we were out climbing the lower face of the bison. It was late afternoon, and down in the valley, we could see the farmers slowly leading their flocks back to the barns. The village and all the world seemed very far away. Clean me up, Johnny. You're no tourist. What? I said do your own climbing. All right, I will. Okay, okay, hang on. No, no, please. I will do it again. Go ahead. See? Oh, you too. Shall we rest? Yeah, sure. Come on, sit down. It is beautiful. Yeah. Hey, what's there? What? That blue flower. I do not know its name. It's a new one. I never saw it before. Must be new, because her Martin never saw it before. What is it, Johnny? Hmm? What? A sad look again. No. It comes more often now. It's nothing, honey. It just looks like a flower that you... What? Nothing. What is it like in your country, Johnny? Oh, I don't know. Kind of big and noisy. Got growing pains. What is this? Well, it feels like it's got to show off or something. It isn't all bad, though. Do you have mountains like the Vice Horn? Oh, yeah, sure. Except most of them have super highways right over the top. I don't think I would like that. No, I don't guess you wouldn't. Are you happy here, Johnny? Oh, yes, sure. I am happy. I love you. Yes, I know. I wish you'd be getting back. I do not want to go. Why? I'm afraid. Oh, now stop that. I wish we could live on our mountain forever. Sure. We could live on Edelweiss. You must not joke. I'm sorry, darling. Come on. What was that? I do not know. Down on the slope. Oh, it's Frank. He sees us. Now watch your step. Yes. Are you down yet? Yeah. All right, I'll be right with you. Okay, come on, honey. What is it, Franz? We must go down to the village. Why? Last night on the Vice Horn, an airplane crashed. An airplane? Yeah. We must get help to them. Yeah, there are no other guides. We must hurry. Our supplies aren't in the village. I will come, too. Yeah, probably not. We will need your help. Hurry, Johnny. Yeah. Sure. In the village, Franz told us all he knew about the wrecked plane. It was a small single-engine ship was carrying two men when it crashed into the Vice Horn. As soon as we'd picked up our equipment, we started back up the glacier. Franz led the way, sounding with his ice axe as he went, and by 10 o'clock we were over the frozen ice field. We pitched camp on a rocky ledge at the foot of the mountain, and Braini cooked our beans over the humming primus stove. After supper, we crawled into the tent to sleep. Within a few minutes, Franz was breathing heavily. My eyes opened, thinking of the flyers, wondering if they were alive. Finally, I got up and crawled quietly out of the tent. I lit a cigarette and looked up at the stars. The stars always seemed nearer when they were on a mountain. Quiet. Did I frighten you? I didn't hear you coming. You cannot sleep, either. No. Tomorrow night we will sleep. Yeah, I suppose so. Something is troubling you, Johnny. No, no, not. You're thinking about tomorrow's climb? Maybe. It will be hard work, but we will do it. Of course. I was thinking about the flyers. If they are alive, we will get to them in time. Yeah, I suppose so. Braini, do you hear anything? I don't know. You can't tell whether it's the wind. I hear it. What is it? The wind. I'm... Almost like a song. Hold me close, Johnny. What is it, honey? Just hold me close. The wind is blowing. Did we wake you up, Franz? Sleep is always hard, the first night on a mountain. Where is this wind coming from? The north. That's bad. It is hard to say. Maybe it will blow away. Maybe not. We will let that take care of itself. You think we'll be in time, Franz? At this time of year, I think yes. But come, we have much work tomorrow. One needs strength to climb the vice-horn. Come on, Braini. Yes, Johnny. Oh, I'm tired now. Go ahead, Braini. It is always first the ladies. Franz, come here a minute. Yes, Johnny. Do you hear anything? Yes, Johnny. It's the wind, isn't it? Some say it is just the wind. In the valley, it is said the vice-horn sings only when there is death on the mountain. Come. We must get sleep. Yeah. Yeah. Next morning, the wind had died down and the mountain above us was shrouded in a heavy mist, and everything we touched was wet. It was impossible to scale the rock face above us so we walked around to the west wall. But last Franz stopped and pointed up to the cliff. The first hundred feet of so fell off at a slight angle and there seemed to be enough cracks and hand holes to make it climbable. So we roped up Franz first, then Braini, then myself, and Franz started up the wall. It's a lonesome business this climbing a mountain. Sometimes you pull yourself up to a ledge and find the others resting, but most of the time they've gone on and you're alone. You hear them shouting above you and the rope wriggles and twists up into the mist, and you know they're there, but they seem in another world. Your own world is at the gray rock wall pressed against your face and the thousands of feet of air beneath you. By four that afternoon we were nearing the top. The last 30 feet had been hard work. The wall became almost vertical. My arms ached and my clothes were wet with sweat and I heard Braini's voice right above me. Oh, I got it. No, I can't meet you. No, I'm okay. Give me your hand. Yeah. Oh, thanks. How do you feel? Oh, I'm winded. It will not be long. Where's Franz? Right up there. Huh? Uh-oh. Franz thinks he can get around it. But that shoulder sticks out right above us. He will do it. How does it look, Franz? It will go. Well, I'll be careful. Yeah, yeah. He has not moved for five minutes. Come on down, Franz. Let me try. It will go. Can you reach that crack to your right? I will try. That's it. Another couple of inches. Be careful. Shift your weight to your right foot. Oh, stop. Yes. Franz, you all right? Come on down. Try it. It will go. Okay, but take your time. He's too old. Yes, he's too stubborn. That's it. At the foothold of your left. Yeah, yeah. Make him stop, Johnny. I can't, Bernie. Now, can you reach that crack? He's going to jump. No. Now he will be all right. I can't see him. He's on top of the shoulder. You okay, Franz? Oh, it's your turn, honey. Yes, Johnny. Don't worry. He can pull you up now. I know. I'll see you in a couple of minutes. Yes. Hey, honey. I'll kick you away from the wall. That's right. Are you okay, honey? Yes, Johnny. Well, let's get going then, huh? When you are ready. No, no, I'm all right now. Good. Come. Well, it's just that you're not working so hard. Put on another sweater, honey. It will pass. I do not like this. What, Franz? The wind last night. Today the fog. This is not good. No. Always before the storm on the mountain comes the fog. Oh. Franz. Yeah? I thought I saw something in the mist up ahead. Where? There. There it is again. Come on. Yeah, yeah. It's the plane. Come on. What a mess. Yeah. You better wait here, Granny, huh? Yes, Johnny. Lucky it didn't burn. Yeah. All right, give me a hand. Yeah, sir. There's one of them. The leap of God. He's dead. Probably better for him. The mountain will sing no more. Wait a minute. I thought there was supposed to be two. Johnny! Franz! What? What's the matter? Here is one of them. Let me see it. Well, let's turn them over. What is it, Johnny? Huh? It looks so strange. There's nothing. This one, it's a lie. You know him? No. No. We buried the dead flyer there on the terrace and then pitched camp. Rainy took care of the injured man as best she could. Franz said there were no broken bones and that he was probably suffering from shock and exposure. During the night the storm broke and by morning the terrace was covered with two feet of snow. There was nothing to do but wait it out and hope that our supplies would last. We sat there in the half-light of the tent with the unconscious flyer lying between us. Nobody talked much. Is anyone hungry? Nine, Duncan. Johnny? No, thanks, Rainy. Why don't you rest, Franz? Did you? You've been working the kinks down on that rope for an hour. When a mountain, Johnny, one never rests. What do you think? It is a bad storm. The worst this year. It may blow three days. It may stop tonight. One never knows. Yeah. It will be very hard going down, but it gives our flyer time to get strength. It all balances out. Yeah. So, now I go past the snow off the tent. I don't stay long. Rainy. Yes, Johnny? Are you cold? A little. Come over here next to me. Yes. Are you better? Yes, Johnny. What's the matter? Why? You've been so quiet. I do not know. Well, what is it? There's something wrong. I do not know. What? You? You're hiding something? No, I... Rainy. The flyer. Lift up his head. Yeah, all right. Give him some water. Rainy, I wanted to... Water? Yeah. His eyes are opening. Hello, Johnny. You're all right, Mr. Steele. Just take it easy. He's out again. Rainy. Don't cry, Rainy. Well, it is nothing. I was going to tell you. You see, during the war, I had a pretty rough time of it. No more than anyone else, I guess, but bad enough. Then when I came home, well, it wasn't what I'd expected. I don't know what I thought it would be like, but it just wasn't right. Lots of guys got up and made speeches about the boys and things, but nobody really knew what it had been like. How could they? Yeah, that's right. Only I didn't know that then. It seemed like everyone just patted you on the back and said, nice going, fellow. Then when right back to being what they were before the war, making the same mistakes, nobody had learned anything. And then when things started to look bad in Europe, well, I just said, this is crazy. I don't want any part of this. Then I ran away. I didn't tell anyone where I was going. I just ran. And now you want to go back? I don't know, Rainy. See, I didn't figure on you. Now I don't ever want to leave you. Hold me tight, Rainy. Yes, Johnny. Yes, Johnny. The storm raged for two days, and our supplies were getting dangerously low. And on the afternoon of the second day, steel started coughing, and by night it was burning with fever. Anybody who has ever been on a mountain can recognize pneumonia. Fran said we had to go down the next day, storm or no storm. On the third day, it stopped snowing, but the wind continued to blow bitter and cold. We roped up and started on the cliff and lowering each other 30 or 40 feet at a time, we were at the bottom by noon. We were on the third of the way down the glacier when we came to a savage gash in the ice. We dropped our packs and walked along the lip of the crevasse looking for a way over. It does not go. Well, it has to. See for yourself. There must be some. The crevasse catches all the way to the rock walls. Yeah. Well, I do not know. Well, we can't stay here. I know. Steel is sick. He needs to... Johnny! Yeah, Rainy. Come quickly. What's the matter? Look. Read your snow. Let's clean across the crevasse. Yeah, yeah. We have no one. It has to. Perhaps if there are ice underneath. All we have to do is get a rope across. We will see. No, France. Bidet. I will go. You? Yes, I will go. No! You are too heavy, France, and you too, Johnny. If it will hold any of us, it will hold me. No, Rainy. Rainy, it's right. I'm not gonna let... If you go, I go and the bridge falls. That is our last chance. Where's the rope, France? Here, France. No, Rainy. We will live till help comes, Johnny, but her steel... All right, all right. Tie that rope tight. Yes. And if we tell you to come back, now you'll come back. Yes, Johnny. That's all. Yeah, I did. Now remember. Push me luck. Yeah. Go slowly, Rainy. Use your ice axe. That's it, before each step. She is a brave father. You should not let her go. She will be all right. France, call her back. It will go. Rainy! No, Johnny. Be careful. She's halfway. Yeah. It was gonna fall over by now. It will hold you. If we ever get out of here... You know, she's slipping. Rainy! Cut us out. Five feet more. Oh, please. Slowly, Rainy. Three. She's older. We tied the packs to the rope and sent them over first. Because France was lighter, we decided that he'd go next. Rainy tied the rope around her waist and braced her feet in the snow. And Ron seized it in his hands and I saw him swing out over the crevasse. The rope danced and swayed under his weight, but slowly, hand over hand, he worked his way across, kicking his feet as he went. When he was over, he took the rope from Rainy and tied it around his chest. Then I lashed steel to the line and very carefully, France pulled him across the crevasse. Then it was my turn. I knotted the rope around my chest and passed it between my legs. Then I stepped to the edge, took a deep breath and leapt out into space. I shoved my hands and knees out in front of me to break the shock as I hit the fire side and the wall was rushing up at me. My body turned and my head crashed against the ice. I seemed to be slipping down into soft darkness when the sharp pain of the rope around my chest snapped me back to consciousness and was being pulled upward in long, regular thrusts. My body grating against the blue ice wall as I went. Then I heard Rainy. She was leaning far out over the edge, stretching her arms down to reach me and saying my name. I heard France calling her telling her to get back. My own voice tried to rise and my trope of the rope was cutting my chest and I couldn't breathe. Then our hands touched and she smiled and said my name again. Then I saw the snow under a tremble start to crumble then she was falling. Let me down! Who's telling me? Hey! Hello, Mr. Steel. I'm glad you came. Sit down. No, thanks. I haven't had a chance to... Please! I understand. How are you feeling? They're taking good care of me here. Doc says I'll be out in a couple of weeks. Fine. Then I suppose I'll be flying home. Yeah. What are you going to do, Johnny? I don't know. I guess it's too soon to decide. Yeah, I guess. You know, it wasn't coincidence I was in that plane that crashed. No? A friend of mine saw your picture in a magazine. Sent it to me. Oh. Mother and Dad asked me to come over and talk to you. They said I had more influence with you than I had her vented. I thought maybe you'd like to go home with me. No. Except to you. I'm staying here. Still running away. You wouldn't understand. Maybe I would. Your Dad told me what was on your mind. Why don't you do something about it? What can one guy do? Nothing. If he runs away. There are plenty of people who feel like you do, Johnny. Must be some way to make that known. Yes, if I thought there was a chance. You'll never find out over here. Why don't you drop in again and we'll talk some more. Okay. See you, Johnny. Maybe. Johnny! Hmm? Oh. Hello, Franz. I've been waiting for you. They found Vrani this morning. Vrani. I told them to bury her on the mountain. I thought you would want that. She said she wished we could live on the vice-horn forever. Take care of her for me, will you, Franz? You are leaving. I guess so. Yeah. This I have always known. Someday, Johnny would go home. The title, Shadow on the Snow. The story of a man who had to climb a mountain to find himself. For next week, friends, we won't be with you. But be sure to listen in two weeks from now. Until then, this is John Steele saying goodbye and good hunting.