ontinued the chute for fully a mile down stream,
shovelling away to the glare ice. Young Joe had introduced a new and
more exciting form of sport.

The next two days afforded rare enjoyment, for the slide was at its
best, and the weather clear and bracing. But the afternoon of the third
day was not so propitious. It began to grow cloudy at midday, and some
light flakes of snow fell, as they ate their luncheon and drank their
coffee, beside a fire of spruce and birch at the summit of the
mountain, near the head of the slide.

They continued till about five in the afternoon, however, when the snow
began falling steadily, and they took their last slide. A party of three
of them, Harvey and Henry Burns and George Warren, had proceeded nearly
to the Ellison dam, on their way to Benton, when Henry Burns suddenly
stopped, with an exclamation of annoyance.

"I've got to go back," he said; "I've left my buckskin gloves and Tom's
hatchet up by the fire."

"Oh, let 'em go till to-morrow," said Harvey, who was feeling hungry.

"No, it won't do," replied Henry Burns, looking back wearily to where
the faint smoke of the day's fire still showed through the light
snow-fall. "You fellows needn't wait, though. Keep on, and perhaps I'll
catch up."

He started back, plodding slowly, for he was tired with the frequent
climbing of the mountain throughout the day. The others, thinking of the
supper awaiting them, continued on the way home.

It was a little more than a mile that Henry Burns had to go; and, by the
time he was half-way there, it was snowing hard. The storm had increased
perceptibly; and, moreover, the wind was rising, and it blew the snow
into his eyes so that he could hardly see. He kept on stubbornly,
however.

Presently, there came a gust that reminded him of a quick squall on the
water. It seemed to gather a cloud of the driving snow and fairly bury
him under it. He staggered for a moment and stood still, holding his
hands to his face for protection.

"That's a three-reef blow, all right," he muttered, and went on again,
finally beginning the ascent of the mountain. But there he found himself
suddenly assailed by a succession of gusts that made it impossible to
try to climb. Moreover, the air was rapidly becoming so thick with snow
that he saw he was in danger of being lost.

He made up his mind quickly, realizing the danger he was in, and started
back down stream. He must gain shelter soon, or he would be unable