storm they dared not attempt to skirt the base of the peaks; they must
keep straight on, to the west, for there lay the valley.

Occasionally, where a grove of trees stood close and the snow lay
shallow, the boys got off and wrestled, rousing the blood in their legs
and arms; then urged their mustangs to greater speed. But the poor
brutes were very weary, and the blood in their veins was almost torpid.
Once they stood still and shook, whinnying pitifully. A huge grizzly, so
powdered as to be hardly distinguishable from the drifts about him,
floundered along to the right. The boys crossed themselves and awaited
their fate, with the apathy of numb and despairing brains; but the
monster was evidently aiming for the warmth of his home, and took no
notice of the meal in four courses standing in the middle of the path.

The night deepened. The snow thickened and sped down with an audible
rush, a sting in each beautiful white bee. The boys nodded, roused
themselves, fell forward, their arms mechanically stiffening about the
horses' necks. Once they flung out their hands and feet with a smothered
shriek. A tongue of flame seemed to leap down their throats and hiss
through their veins, while the world roared and heaved about them. Then
all sensation was over.

XIII

Roldan opened his eyes. His brain was heavy; he was conscious only of an
intense warmth. His arms appeared to be bound to his sides, his whole
body in a vise. He kicked out with a vigorous return of the instinct of
independence. The action shook his brain free and he understood: he was
tightly wrapped in a blanket, and there were other blankets upon him. He
raised his head. The room was one of familiar lineaments,--whitewashed