times, and now she reproached herself in remorseful compunction, and with
the abandonment of a child to her present overwrought condition, felt that
she could never refuse him anything should his blue eyes turn pleadingly to
her again. At first she did not give way, but was sustained, like Maggie,
by the bustle of preparation for the return, and in answering the
innumerable questions of Johnnie and Alf. Webb's assurance to his mother
that he would bring Burt back safe and sound was her chief hope. From the
first moment of greeting he had inspired her with a confidence that had
steadily increased, and from the time that he had admitted the possibility
of this awful emergency he had acted so resolutely and wisely as to
convince her that all that man could do would be done. She did not think of
explaining to herself why her hope centred more in him than in all the
others engaged in the search, or why she was more solicitous about him in
the hardships and perils that the expedition involved, and yet Webb shared
her thoughts almost equally with Burt. If the latter were reached, Webb
would be the rescuer, but her sickening dread was that in the black night
and howling storm he could not be found.

As the rescuing party pushed their way up the mountain with difficulty they
became more and more exposed to the northeast gale, and felt with
increasing dread how great was the peril to which Burt must be exposed had
he not found refuge in some of the dwellings nearer to the scene of his
sport. The roar of the gale up the rugged defile was perfectly terrific,
and the snow caught up from the overhanging ledges was often driven into
their faces with blinding force. They could do little better than give the
horses their heads, and the poor brutes floundered slowly through the
drifts. The snow had deepened incredibly fast, and the fierce wind piled it
up so fantastically in every sheltered place that they were often in danger
of upsetting, and more than once had to spring out with their shovels. At
last, after an hour of toil, they reached the first summit, but no tidings