'll hev steak." He
selected a log and began to hack at it.

Shuddering, she sank to her knees, one hand reached out to touch
Marylyn. "Maybe Charley'll come, honey," she whispered hopefully.
"Maybe, maybe!"

And now it seemed as if she heard something outside. She crept to the
door. Around the latch was a little space. She put her ear to it, and
the icy air blew against her cheek. There it was again! The shriek of
the gale.

She went back to the bed.

_Hack!_ _hack!_ _hack!_ Then muttered curses. And again the sound of
chopping.

When she could bear it no longer, she got up and stumbled over to her
father. "_Dad_," she said, "if I break up the mantel and fix something,
will you stop?"

He sat back on his feet, puffing crossly. "Light a fire," he said. "Use
these chips. Ah'll res'." He threw down the hatchet and crawled under
the blankets. He was glad of the interruption, for the duty ahead was
assuming an ugly guise.

Dallas had filled the coffee-pail with snow. Now, she gathered up the
chips, lit them, and pried up the wide board of the mantel. This she
split with the hatchet.

"What you going to make?" asked Marylyn, from the bed.

"Pepper-tea, honey. It'll warm you up."

"Oh, I'm glad. Ma made some once."

Pepper-tea it was. When the snow had melted and the water was boiling
hot, Dallas added pepper and salt. Then she spread a cloth and turned
the wheat and corn sacks out upon it. She got a handful of flour. With
this she thickened the water. Three cups were setting upon the floor.
She took the coffee-pail over, poured into two, and handed them to her
father and Marylyn.

"Don't spill a drop," she cautioned.

"You got some?" queried Marylyn, sitting up.

Dallas went back to the other cup. "Well, what do you think I'm doing?"
she asked, and lifted it to her lips.

Soon, the three were lying shoulder to shoulder again, the section-boss
drawing a little added comfort from his pipe. Before long, he was
asleep; Marylyn, too. When Dallas got up cautiously and brewed a cup of
peppered water for herself. The hot draught relieved the pangs of her
hunger. She lay down again.

Hours later, she was awakened by hearing faint squeals directly
overhead. Hastily, she lit the lantern and took down the Sharps; then,
stepped directly under the sounds and poked the rifle's muzzle into the
hay of the roof. Above, storm-driven and crowding one another against
the stones of the chimney, were some pigs!

In her eage