All their hopes of
escape depended on the success of the artifice. If they might elude
the cunning of their pursuers, by this simple and therefore less
suspected expedient, they could renew their flight as the evening
approached, and, by changing their course, the chance of final success
would be greatly increased. Influenced by these momentous
considerations the whole party lay, musing on their situation, until
thoughts grew weary, and sleep finally settled on them all, one after
another.
The deepest silence had prevailed for hours, when the quick ears of
the trapper and the Pawnee were startled by a faint cry of surprise
from Inez. Springing to their feet, like men, who were about to
struggle for their lives, they found the vast plain, the rolling
swells, the little hillock, and the scattered thickets, covered alike
in one, white, dazzling sheet of snow.
"The Lord have mercy on ye all!" exclaimed the old man, regarding the
prospect with a rueful eye; "now, Pawnee, do I know the reason why you
studied the clouds so closely; but it is too late; it is too late! A
squirrel would leave his trail on this light coating of the 'arth.
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