except for the soft whisper of the snow underfoot.

No noise encompassed the Brothers as they sped swiftly side by side
over the glittering white carpet, save for the slither of the snow
under their weight.

All the wild seemed to be standing still, holding its breath, looking
on, spell-bound; and save for the occasional crash of a collapsing
snow-laden branch, sounding magnified as in a cave, all the forest
about there was as still as death.

Half-an-hour passed, and Gulo flung his head around, glancing over his
shoulder a little uneasily, but with never a trace of fear in his
bloodshot eyes. Then he grunted, and the two fell apart silently and
instantly, gradually getting farther and farther from each other on a
diverging course, till his wife faded out among the trees. But never
for an instant did either of them check that tireless, deceptive,
clumsy, rolling slouch, that slid the trees behind, as telegraph-poles
slide behind the express carriage window.

Half-an-hour passed, and one of the Brothers, peering up and along the
trail a little anxiously, saw the forking of the line ahead. Then he
grunted, and the two promptly separated without a word, gradually
increasing the distance between them on the widening fork till they
were lost to each other among the marshaled trunks. But never for an
instant did they relax that swift, ghostly glide on the wonderful ski,
that slid the snow underfoot as a racing motor spins over the ruts.

An hour passed. Sweat was breaking out in beads upon the faces of the
Brothers, now miles apart, but both going in the same general direction