me of a powerful blast-lamp sprang
up and threw out a dazzling glare. The lamp belonged to the company, and
Festing did not ask Charnock how he had got it. Bob had his own methods,
and it was better to leave him alone. When the whistle blew, the latter
turned to the borrowed men.

"Go to our shack, boys, and get supper there. I told the cook to fix up
something extra, and dare say you'll find it better hash than yours. I'd
like you to come back to-morrow, but am afraid it's risky."

CHAPTER XXIV

THE CHINOOK WIND

The frost got more rigorous, drying the snow to a dusty powder in which
Festing's lumber gang floundered awkwardly. Had there been a thaw, the
surface would have hardened, but now they were forced to move the logs
through loose, billowy drifts. The men sank to their knees, it was
difficult to find a fulcrum for the handspikes, and the logs would not
run well on the beaten roads. The latter broke into holes, and the dry
snow retarded the smooth sliding of the lumber like dust. One could not
touch a saw or ax-head with the naked hand.

Festing had seen that he might be embarrassed by hard frost, but had not
expected it to continue. On the central tablelands of British Columbia
winter is severe, but near the coast and in valleys open to the West
the mitigating warmth of the Pacific is often felt. He had imagined that
when his work upon the track was hindered the snow would help him to
bring down lumber ready for use when a thaw set in. Now, however, wages
were mounting up and little work was being done. He began to wonder what
would happen if a change did not come.

One morning he knelt in a hole below the track, holding a drill. He wore
mittens, but the back of one was split and showed a raw bruise on
his skin. It needs practise to hit the end of a drill squarely, and
Charnock, who swung the big hammer, had missed. The worst was that the
bruise would not heal while the temperature kept low. They were sinking
a hole through frozen gravel that was worse to cut than rock, because
the drill jambed in the crevices and would not turn. But for the frost,
they need not have used the tool; a hole for the post they meant to put
in could have been made with a shovel, without using expensive powder.

When he thought they had gone deep enough Festing got up and looked
about. White peaks glittered against a vivid blue sky. The pines
sparkled with frost and the snow in their shadow was a soft gray. The
river looked