nd
since they had wood and cornmeal in plenty, she would not have been much
alarmed if her husband had been home. But snow deep enough to bury them
must cover up all landmarks, and she knew her husband would not rest
till he had found them. To get lost on the trackless prairie was
fearfully easy, and to suffer and die almost in sight of home was no
unusual thing, and was her one dread in living there.

A few moments she lay quiet in bed, to calm herself and get control of
her own anxieties before she spoke to the children.

"Willie," she said at last, "are you awake?"

"Yes, mamma," said Willie; "I've been awake ever so long; isn't it most
morning?"

"Willie," said the mother quietly, "we mustn't be frightened, but I
think--I'm afraid--we are snowed in."

Willie bounded to his feet and ran to the door. "Don't open it!" said
mamma hastily; "the snow may fall in. Light a candle and look out the
window."

In a moment the flickering rays of the candle fell upon the window.
Willie drew back the curtain. Snow was tightly banked up against it to
the top.

"Why, mamma," he exclaimed, "so we are! and how can papa find us? and
what shall we do?"

"We must do the best we can," said mamma, in a voice which she tried to
make steady, "and trust that it isn't very deep, and that Tim and papa
will find us, and dig us out."

By this time the little girls were awake and inclined to be very much
frightened, but mamma was calm now, and Willie was brave and hopeful.
They all dressed, and Willie started the fire. The smoke refused to
rise, but puffed out into the room, and Mrs. Barnes knew that if the
chimney were closed they would probably suffocate, if they did not
starve or freeze.

The smoke in a few minutes choked them, and, seeing that something must
be done, she put the two girls, well wrapped in blankets, into the shed
outside the back door, closed the door to keep out the smoke, and then
went with Willie to the low attic, where a scuttle door opened onto the
roof.

"We must try," she said, "to get it open without letting in too much
snow, and see if we can manage to clear the chimney."

"I can reach the chimney from the scuttle with a shovel," said Willie.
"I often have with a stick."

After much labour, and several small avalanches of snow, the scuttle
was opened far enough for Willie to stand on the top round of the short
ladder, and beat a hole through to the light, which was only a
foot above. He then shovelle