ee each
other and proceed more rapidly. Suddenly Wasson lifted his hand, and
turned his face up to the sky.

"Snow," he announced soberly. "Thought I felt it afore, and the wind
's changed."

Hamlin turned in the saddle, feeling already the sharp sting of snow
pellets on his face. Before he could even answer the air was full of
whiteness, a fierce gust of wind hurling the flying particles against
them. In another instant they were in the very heart of the storm,
almost hurled forward by the force of the wind, and blinded by the icy
deluge. The pelting of the hail startled the horses, and in spite of
every effort of the riders, they drifted to the right, tails to the
storm. The swift change was magical. The sharp particles of icy snow
seemed to swirl upon them from every direction, sucking their very
breath, bewildering them, robbing them of all sense of direction.
Within two minutes the men found it impossible to penetrate the wintry
shroud except for a few feet ahead of them.

The Sergeant knew what it meant, for he had had experience of these
plains storms before.

"Halt!" he cried, his voice barely audible in the blast. "Close up,
men; come here to me--lively now? That you, Wade? Wasson; oh, all
right, Sam. Here, pass that lariat back; now get a grip on it, every
one of you, and hold to it for your lives. Let me take the lead, Sam;
we 'll have to run by compass. Now then, are you ready?"

The lariat rope, tied to Hamlin's pommel, straightened out and was
grasped desperately by the gloved hands of the men behind. The
Sergeant, shading his eyes, half smothered in the blast, could see
merely ill-defined shadows.

"All caught?"

The answers were inaudible.

"For the Lord's sake, speak up; answer now--Wasson."

"Here."

"Wade."

"Here."

"Carroll."

"Here."

"Good; now come on after me."

He drove his horse forward, head bent low over the compass, one arm
flung up across his mouth to prevent inhaling the icy air. He felt the
tug of the line; heard the labored breathing of the next horse behind,
but saw nothing except that wall of swirling snow pellets hurled
against him by a pitiless wind, fairly lacerating the flesh. It was
freezing cold; already he felt numb, exhausted, heavy-eyed. The air
seemed to penetrate his clothing, and prick the skin as with a thousand
needles. The thought came that if he remained in the saddle he would
freeze stiff. Again he turned, and sent the voice o