ost of the
dangers that menaced them from time to time. A gale of the fiercest
kind was blowing. In its passage it bent the trees until they groaned
and creaked again; it tore off the smaller twigs and whisked them up
into the air; it lifted the snow in masses out of the open spots in the
woods, and hurled them in cloud-like volumes everywhere; and it roared
and shrieked through the valleys and round the mountain tops as if a
thousand evil spirits were let loose upon the scene.

Silver Lake was still silvery in its aspect, for the white drift was
flying across it like the waves of a raging sea; but here, being
exposed, the turmoil was so tremendous that there was no distinguishing
between earth, lake, and sky. "Confusion, worse confounded" reigned
every where, or rather, appeared to reign; for, in point of fact, _there
is no confusion whatever_ in the works and ways of God. Common sense,
if unfallen, would tell us that. The Word reveals it, and science of
late years has added its testimony thereto.

Roy and Nelly very naturally came to the conclusion that things were in
a very disordered state indeed on that Sabbath morning, so they returned
to their hut, to spend the day as best they might.

Their first care was to kindle the fire and prepare breakfast. While
Nelly was engaged in this, Roy went out and cut several small trees,
with which he propped the hut all round to prevent it from being blown
down. But it was discovered, first, that the fire would hardly kindle,
and, second, that when it was kindled it filled the whole place with
smoke. By dint of perseverance, however, breakfast was cooked and
devoured, after which the fire was allowed to go out, as the smoke had
almost blinded them.

"Never mind, Nell, cheer up," said Roy, on concluding breakfast; "we'll
rig up a tent to keep the snow off us."

The snow, be it understood, had been falling into the fire, and, more or
less, upon themselves, through the hole in the roof; so they made a tent
inside the hut, by erecting two posts with a ridge-pole at a height of
three feet from the ground, over which they spread one of their
blankets. Under this tent they reclined with the other blankets spread
over them, and chatted comfortably during the greater part of that day.

Of course their talk was chiefly of home, and of the mother who had been
the sun and the joy of their existence up to that sad day when they were
lost in the snow, and naturally they convers