y silence: there was
not even the howl of a prowling wolf or the splash of falling water.

Rising at dawn, almost too cold to move, he could find no dry wood to
make a fire and had serious trouble in getting on his frozen boots; and
after a hurried meal he set out again. It was some time before he felt
moderately warm, but with a short rest at noon, he held on until evening
was near, when he camped in a deep rift among the rocks filled with small
firs. Here he found dry branches, and made his supper, sitting between a
sheltering stone and a welcome fire. Soon afterward, he lay down and
slept until the piercing cold awakened him near dawn. The fire had burned
out to a few red embers; he had some trouble in stirring it into life,
and it was bright daylight when he resumed his journey.

He was too tired and generally too cold to retain any clear impression of
the next few days' march. There were ranks of peaks above, glittering at
times against an intensely blue sky, but more often veiled in leaden
cloud, while rolling vapor hid their lower slopes. He skirted tremendous
gorges, looked up great hollows filled with climbing trees, followed
winding valleys, and at length limped into sight of a lonely camp at the
foot of a crag. The light was fading when he reached it, though a lurid
sunset glowed behind the black firs on the crest of a ridge, and the
place had a desolate look. Most of the shacks were empty, there were
rings of branches with a litter of old cans about them where tents had
been pitched, but a few toiling figures were scattered about a strip of
track. It was comforting to see them, but Prescott was too jaded to
notice what they were doing.

Entering a shanty, roughly built of ties and galvanized iron, he found a
stove burning, and a Chinaman who told him that supper would be ready
soon. After a while the men came in and, asking very few questions, gave
him a share of their meal; then he was shown a rude bed of fir branches
and swamp hay and told he could sleep there. Prescott lay down and
lighted his pipe and then looked about for a while. The place was dimly
lighted and filled with rank tobacco smoke, through which he saw the
blurred figures of his new companions. Some of them were playing cards
under a lamp, some were disputing in harsh voices, and now and then there
was a burst of laughter. Once or twice a man went out and an icy draught
swept through the shed, but except for that it was delightfully warm.