ve
her a strange feeling of fear, and nerved her for great efforts.

I shall not go with her step by step over her terrible journey, for
though the house was near, every step was a struggle and a battle.
Many times she fell down and got up staggering and blinded by snow;
many times she lost her direction and had to wait till a momentary
lull in the storm showed her the forlorn chimney again.

Through unheard-of difficulties she reached the house, her clothes
full of the dry, powdery snow, her eyes blinded, her hair a mass of
white, and aching in every limb from her efforts and the cold.

The front door was completely buried in snow, and indeed, the whole
front of the cottage seemed but a snow mountain. The drifts were lower
on the side, so she staggered on towards the kitchen door. As she came
near, she saw, to her dismay, that the snow had fallen away, and the
door was open.

Now thoroughly alarmed, she struggled on, and reached the step. The
snow had fallen inward, and the drift inside was as heavy as that
outside.

At first she hesitated to enter the house she had always dreaded, but
in an instant she reflected that Miss Hester would not leave her door
open if she were able to shut it, and she staggered in. Two steps
inside she stumbled over something, and dashing the snow out of her
eyes, she saw to her horror, the well-known brown dress of Miss
Hester, and sure enough there she lay on the floor, half covered with
snow, silent--perhaps dead.

One little scream escaped Maggie's lips, and then she fell on her
knees before her. No, she was not dead, but she was unconscious and
perfectly cold.

In a moment her own sufferings were forgotten. She did not know or did
not care that she was exhausted from her struggles--that she was
herself half frozen. She flew to work.

First she dragged Miss Hester away from the snow, with difficulty shut
the door, then hurried into the bedroom, brought out a pillow and
blanket, put the pillow under Miss Hester's head, wrapped the blanket
around her on the floor, and then hurried to the stove.

The fire was ready to light; evidently Miss Hester had opened the door
to look out before starting her fire, and the great drift had fallen
upon her and knocked her down.

Maggie did not stop to think of all this. She looked around for
matches and lighted the fire, then turned her attention to the silent
figure on the floor. She chafed her hands and warmed them in her own,
which now f