of the
blast had passed; and Cuthbert eagerly looked out for the next refuge.
At last they reached it, and the guide at once entered. It was not that
in which he had intended to pass the night, for this lay still higher;
but it would have been madness to attempt to go further in the face of
such a gale. He signed to Cuthbert that it was necessary at once to
collect firewood, and he himself proceeded to light some brands which
had been left by previous travelers. Cuthbert gave directions to Cnut
and the archers; and these, feeling that life depended upon a good fire
being kept up, set to with a will, cutting down shrubs and branches
growing in the vicinity of the hut. In half an hour a huge fire blazed
in the refuge; and as the warmth thawed their limbs, their tongues were
unloosened, and a feeling of comfort again prevailed.

"If this be mountaineering, my lord," Cnut said, "I trust that never
again may it be my fortune to venture among the hills. How long, I
wonder, do the storms last here? I was grumbling all the way up the hill
at the load of provisions which the guide insisted that each of us
should bring with him. As it was to be but a three days' journey before
we reached a village on the other side, I wondered why he insisted upon
our taking food enough to last us at least for a week. But I understand
now, and thank him for his foresight; for if this storm goes on we are
assuredly prisoners here for so long as it may continue."

The horse had to be brought into the hut, for it would have been death
for it to have remained outside.

"What is that?" Cnut said presently, as a distant howl was heard between
the lulls of the storm. The guide muttered some word which Cuthbert did
not understand. But he said to Cnut, "I doubt not that it is wolves.
Thank God that we are safe within this refuge, for here not even the
most ravenous beasts could make their way."

"Pooh!" Cnut said contemptuously. "Wolves are no bigger than dogs. I
have heard my grandfather say that he shot one in the forest, and that
it was no bigger than a hound. We should make short work of them."

"I know not," Cuthbert said. "I have heard tales of these animals which
show that they must be formidable opponents. They hunt in great packs,
and are so furious that they will attack parties of travelers; many of
these have perished miserably, horses and men, and nothing but their
swords and portions of their saddles have remained to tell where the
battl