imes toilsomely picking a way
across banks of stones buried in snow that hid the dangerous gaps between
them. Now and then he sank through the treacherous covering and plunged
into a hollow, at the risk of breaking his leg; but walking was easier
between these tracts, and when evening came he reached a few large fallen
rocks, among which he camped and lay awake, half frozen, without a fire.
Starting as soon as day broke, he felt that he must make the surveyed
line before dark. He was growing afraid of the white desolation and
wanted to get into touch with something that would lead him to the haunts
of men.

It was afternoon when he came to a great dip. A valley lay beneath him
with a frozen river winding through its depths, and he felt convinced
that it was one the track would follow. The trouble, however, was to get
down, for the hillside fell away in a vast scarp, broken here and there
by dark crags that showed through the snow. There was a belt of timber a
long way down, but the slope was too steep for him to reach it, and he
walked along the summit in search of a spot from which the descent could
be made, until he came to a long declivity that looked a little less
sharp. Then, strapping his fur coat on his pack, he kicked a step in the
snow and began to climb down, facing inward toward the bank.

For a while, he made steady progress; and then the snow grew harder. Its
surface had melted and frozen again, resulting in a crust that could
scarcely be penetrated. He thought about his ax, but he could not see how
he could use it in cutting steps beneath him without falling down, and
this was not the place for hazardous experiments. He went on very
cautiously, finding the work of kicking hollows for his feet extremely
severe, until, when he supposed that half an hour had passed, he drove
his toes in deep and lay down to rest. On looking up, he seemed to have
come a very short distance, and when he glanced below he felt appalled at
the length of the declivity he must still creep down. His limbs ached;
his mittens were worn and his hands badly numbed; and one boot was coming
to pieces.

The descent, however, must be continued, and he began to move again, very
warily. Presently he found he could not break through the crust with his
foot. Clinging hard to his handhold, he lowered himself to feel for a
softer spot. His toe went in a little way; he ventured to trust to the
slight support; but as he did so the treacherous snow