ut the wind drowned the
sound and before he was in the trail the sleigh, which was what he
supposed the thing to be, had flashed by. One cannot handily fit spurs to
moccasins, and, as his hands were almost useless, it was some time before
he induced the horse, which desired to go home uphill, to take the
opposite direction. Then, he was off at a gallop, with a man whom he
supposed to be Clavering in front of him, and the Sheriff, who seemed to
be shouting instructions, at his side. Allonby did not think that anybody
heard them, but that was of no great moment to him then, for the trail was
narrow and slippery here and there, and he was chiefly concerned with the
necessity of keeping clear of his companion. He could not see the sleigh
now and scarcely fancied that anybody else did, but he could hear the beat
of hoofs in front of him when the wind sank a trifle, and rode on
furiously down-hill at a gallop. The horse had apparently yielded to its
terror of the storm, and Allonby had more than a suspicion that, had he
wanted to, he could neither have turned it nor pulled it up.

Clavering still held in front of him, but the Sheriff was dropping back a
little, and the lad did not know whether any of the rest were following.
He was, however, certain that, barring a fall, a mounted man could
overtake a sleigh, and that the up grade beyond the bridge would tell on
the beasts that dragged a weight behind them. So while the snow whirled
past him and the dim trees flashed by, he urged on the beast until he
heard the bridge rattle under him and felt the pace slacken--the trail had
begun to lead steeply up out of the hollow.

The horse was flagging a little by the time they reached the crest of the
rise, and for a few moments Allonby saw nothing at all. The roar of the
trees deafened him, and the wind drove the snow into his eyes. Then, as he
gasped and shook it from him when the gust had passed, he dimly made out
something that moved amidst the white haze and guessed that it was
Clavering. If that were so, he felt it was more than likely that the
sleigh was close in front of him. A few minutes later he had come up with
the man whose greater weight was telling, and while they rode stirrup to
stirrup and neck by neck, Allonby fancied there was something dim and
shadowy in front of them.

Clavering shouted as he dropped behind, and Allonby who failed to catch
what he said was alone, blinking at the filmy whiteness, through which he