.

But this open patch did not last long. Soon they came to several more
snowdrifts. The first was barely a foot high, but the second was almost
up to their arm-pits. The old lumberman was still ahead, breaking a path
for them as well as he was able. Hampered with the load of the bobsled,
the boys made slow progress.

"It's no use!" groaned Andy at last. "I'm all out of breath. I've got to
stop and rest."

"We had better not stop to rest here, Andy," answered Jack quickly. "We
must reach some sort of shelter from this wind."

"I'm all out of breath myself," came from Fred. The exertion of plowing
through the snowdrifts had tired him dreadfully, and he was trembling in
the legs so that he could scarcely stand.

"Come on, boys! Don't stay here!" called back Uncle Barney to them.
"This snowstorm is getting worse every minute!"

The old lumberman had scarcely spoken when all the boys heard a strange
whistling in the air. Then the wind tore down upon them harder than
ever, sending the snowy particles in all directions, so that to make out
what was ahead, even with the flashlights, was out of the question.

CHAPTER XXI

AN ASTONISHING REVELATION

The situation was certainly a disheartening one, and the boys huddled
close together around the bobsled, both for protection and to talk the
matter over.

"Can you tell us at all how far we really are from some sort of
shelter--I mean the nearest shelter at hand?" questioned Jack of Uncle
Barney, as the old lumberman came back to see what had happened.

"It's about a mile to my cabin," was the reply.

"And is that the nearest place?" asked Fred, who had sat down on the
bobsled load to rest.

"No. The nearest place is a little hut that I put up at this end of the
island several years ago. It isn't very much of a shelter, but it might
do."

"Do you mean we could stay there all night?" queried Randy.

"Oh, yes. It's plenty large enough for all of us, and there is a rough
fireplace where we could start a blaze and cook something."

"Then let's head for that place, by all means!" cried Jack. "This storm
is getting worse every minute."

With the wind whistling keenly in their ears and blowing the snow across
the ice and into numerous high drifts, the little party moved on once
more, the boys doing their best to keep up with the old lumberman. This
was comparatively easy, for even Uncle Barney was well-nigh exhausted by
his exertions.

"If this snow keeps on,