le trip for exercise, since sitting on a sled, weighted down
by fur robes, had made their muscles stiff.

They put on their snowshoes, and with their rifles started off. They
hoped they might see another moose, or a musk ox, or, at least, an
Arctic fox, at which to take a shot.

"Don't go too far," cautioned Mr. Baxter. "There's no telling when a
snowstorm may come up, and you can lose your way very easily up here."

They started off, and, as Holfax had said it was rather dangerous to go
into the forest because of the numbers of fierce wolves that might be
there, they moved southward across the plain over which they had just
come.

The sun shone brightly on the snow, which was unrelieved by a single
dark object. It was one vast extent of dazzling white.

At first it was beautiful, so still and quiet, and with the sun up there
was some relief from the piercing cold, that even seemed to strike
through their thick garments. But there was a danger they did not know
about.

"See tracks of anything?" asked Fred when they had gone some distance
and were out of sight of the camp, which was down in a sort of hollow.

"No. Do you?"

"Not a thing. Let's keep on a little farther."

They walked on for perhaps another mile, their snowshoes making travel
easy. But there was no sight of game. Not even a wolf showed itself.

"Guess we'd better go back," remarked Fred at length. "There doesn't
seem to be anything here. Say, my eyes smart something fierce. How about
yours?"

"Mine do, too. I wonder what it is?"

"I don't know. Say, the sun must be going down. It's getting dark. We
must have been out longer than we thought."

"That's so. Come on back. My, but it's getting dark suddenly."

"It certainly is. Why, Jerry, I can't seem to see anything! Where are
you?"

"Right here, but I can't see you. I wonder what the trouble is? Do you
think there's going to be a blizzard?"

Fred was waving his hand in front of his face. To his horror he could
not see it. Before his eyes was nothing but blackness. Then he uttered a
cry of fear.

"What is it?" asked Jerry. "What's the matter? I can't see you, Fred."

"Jerry!" cried the young treasure hunter. "We're blind!"

"Blind?"

"Yes, snow-blind. The sun shining on the snow has dazzled and blinded
us, and we're lost, a long way from the camp!"

CHAPTER XIII

IN THE WILDERNESS

Blindly groping about, the two boys located each other by the sounds of
their voices.

"