not lonely now, nor was he afraid. That which
he wished was coming, though with more violence and suddenness than he
liked, but one must take the gifts of the gods, as they gave them, and
not complain.

Dawn arrived, thick with vapors and mists, and dark with the pouring
rain. From his place under the cliff he could not see far, but he knew
that the snow was dissolving in floods. The six inches of water in his
valley grew to a foot, and he began to be apprehensive lest the whole
place be deluged to such an extent that he be driven out, a fear that
was soon confirmed, as he saw two or three hours after dawn that he must
go.

It would be impossible to keep the lower half of his body dry, but he
was thankful once more for the great painted coat, under which he was
able to secure his rifle and powder against rain. He also fastened in
his belt two of the rabbits that he had cooked, and then with the rest
of his baggage in a pack, he made his start.

He was forced to wade in chilly water almost to his knees, and it was
impossible to leave the valley by either end of the ravine, as it was
filled with a roaring flood many feet deep; but with the aid of bushes
and stony outcrop he climbed the lofty slope, a slow and painful task
attended by danger, as now and then a bush would pull out with his
weight. But, at last, his hands torn, and his face running with
perspiration, he attained the summit, where he turned his face once more
toward the north.

He decided that he would keep to the ridges as the snow would leave them
first, and he could also find some protection in the dense, scrubby
growth that covered them.

He never passed a more trying day. The actual danger of Indian presence
even would have been a relief. The rain beat in an unceasing deluge, and
he was hard put to it to keep his rifle and ammunition dry. The sliding
snow made his foothold so treacherous that he was compelled to keep
among the wet and flapping bushes, where he could grasp support on an
instant's notice.

At noon, though there was no sun to tell him that it had come, he
stopped in a dense thicket and ate one of the rabbits, reflecting rather
grimly that though he had been anxious for the rain to come it was
making him thoroughly uncomfortable. Yet even these clouds covering all
the heavens had at least one strip of silver lining. The harder and more
persistently the rain fell the quicker the snow would be gone, and once
more the wilderness would