"After we leave this patch of timber we are going to have our own troubles on the road."
They looked at the sleigh driver and saw that he, too, was disturbed. He stopped the team and gazed upward between the firs to the dull and heavy sky. Then he shook his head slowly.
"He says another storm is coming," said Granbury Lapham. "It is a great pity that it can"t keep off until we reach Bojowak."
They were in the very center of the patch of firs when the wind increased as if by magic. It caught up the loose snow and sent it whirling this way and that, almost blinding the travelers. The horses, too, could not see, and they stopped short, refusing to go another step.
The driver looked around again, and now his face showed that he was frightened.
"He says we must gain shelter of some kind," said the Englishman, after a few hurried words had pa.s.sed. "He thinks it will be dangerous to remain here among the trees."
"The shelter of the trees is better than nothing," answered Roger. "If we were in the open and this wind---- Gracious! listen to that!"
A sudden rush of wind swept through the forest, causing the trees to sway and creak. The loose snow was blown in all directions, and they had to be careful that they did not get their eyes and mouths full of the stuff. "It"s almost as bad as a--a blizzard!" panted Dave. "And I really think it is growing worse every minute!"
"The question is, where shall we go?" said Granbury Lapham.
"Perhaps the driver knows of some shelter," suggested Dave.
"If he does----"
The Englishman got no further, for at that moment came another rush of air. It bore down upon the forest with terrific force, and a second later they heard several trees go down with crashes that terrified them to the heart. It was a most alarming situation, and what to do to protect themselves n.o.body seemed to know.
CHAPTER XXII
s...o...b..UND IN THE MOUNTAINS
"If we stay here we"ll be in danger of the falling trees!" cried Dave.
He had to raise his voice to make himself heard above the fury of the elements.
"That"s true, but where are we to go?" questioned Roger. The look in his eyes showed his keen anxiety.
"Isn"t there some kind of a cliff around here, under which we can stand?" asked Granbury Lapham of the sleigh driver. Hendrik shrugged his shoulders for a moment, then suddenly tossed his head.
"Yes, I know such a spot," he said, in his native tongue. "Come, we will try to reach it before it is too late."
Amid the howling of the wind and the swirling of the snow, the horses and sleigh were turned partly around, and they struck off on a side trail, leading up the mountain. On and on they toiled, a distance of perhaps five hundred feet, although to the boys it seemed a mile or more. The wind was so strong it fairly took their breath away, and the snow all but blinded them. They had to walk, for it was all the double team could do to drag the turnout over the rough rocks and through the snow. Once Dave slipped, b.u.mped against the Englishman, and both rolled downward a distance of several yards.
"Excuse me!" panted the young American. "My feet went up before I was aware."
"Don"t mention it, my lad," was the gasped-out answer. "I fancy we"re all doing the best we can."
Presently, through the driving snow, came the sight of a high, rocky wall. The sleigh driver halted and warned the others to do likewise.
"He says there is a pocket at the base of the cliff and we must be careful that we don"t fall in it," said Granbury Lapham. "Let us wait until he makes certain it is perfectly safe."
In a few minutes Hendrik, having gone forward, came back and led the horses closer to the rocky wall, which towered over their heads a distance of a hundred feet or more. Toward the base the wall receded about a rod, so that the overhanging portion afforded a little shelter below. Outside of this shelter was a drift of snow as high as their heads, and the travelers had not a little trouble in getting through it.
"Well, this is certainly better than nothing," remarked Dave, as he shook the snow from his garments. "So long as the wind comes from down the mountain we"ll be safe enough."
Hendrik proved a practical fellow in the emergency. He found a spot where some small rocks outside of the cliff set up something of a barrier in front. Then he unhitched the horses, took the outfit from the sleigh, and turned the sleigh upon its side. Not content with this, he found some fir saplings, cut them down with an axe he carried, and on them spread out the lap-robes. By the time he had finished they had quite a shelter from the wind and cold.
"Make a little fire now," he said, to the Englishman. "But be very careful that the forest does not catch." And then he explained that to allow the forest to burn in Norway was a prison offence.
"It"s an outrage to burn down a forest, anyway," said Roger. "It takes so long for the trees to grow again."
"Yes, and they are never so nice afterwards either," added Dave.
With security from the storm, at least for the time being, everybody found himself hungry. A small fire of fir branches was started, and over this they made a pot of coffee and broiled a piece of the mutton brought along. They had some bread with them, and also some cheese-cake, and managed to make a square meal. They took their time eating, since there was nothing else to do.
"Wonder how long we"ll have to stay here?" mused the senator"s son.
"Until this awful wind lets up, I guess," answered Dave. "My! just listen to it roar and whistle! I shouldn"t care to be out on the mountain top."
"You couldn"t stand up there."
Hendrik brought in a large bundle of sticks and kept the fire going, so that they were soon well warmed. In the meantime it was growing darker and darker.
"We"ll have to stay here until morning," announced Granbury Lapham. "To attempt to move in this darkness would be foolhardy."
There was absolutely nothing to do after that but sit down and rest, and soon the dancing of the fire made Dave sleepy. He rolled up in a blanket and closed his eyes, and presently Roger followed his example.
When the two boys awoke it was morning, but only a faint light reached them in their sleeping place under the cliff. They found Granbury Lapham already up. The sleigh driver, worn out, was stretched beside the fire, snoring l.u.s.tily.
"Why, what has happened?" asked Dave, trying to look beyond the shelter.
"I declare, it looks as if we were snowed in!"
"That"s about the size of it," returned the senator"s son. "And it looks to me as if it was still snowing."
"We"ll have a time getting out on the road."
It was snowing thickly, so that but little could be seen beyond the improvised shelter. Fortunately, however, the wind had gone down, so that it was not nearly so cold as it had been.
They made themselves breakfast, and then Granbury Lapham aroused the sleigh driver. Hendrik went beyond the shelter before eating and shook his head dubiously.
"It will be a hard road to travel," he announced, in Norwegian, to the Englishman. "A hard road indeed!"
"Don"t you think we can reach Bojowak to-day?" asked Granbury Lapham.
"We can try," was the non-committal reply.
They did not start until nearly noon. First Hendrik broke the road with the horses alone and then came back for the sleigh. It took a full hour to get down to the spot where they had turned off the Bojowak highway the day previous. Even then they broke one of the traces and had to stand around while the leather was mended. The falling snow was so thick they could not see any distance ahead. It clung to their fur caps and overcoats until each looked "like a regular Santa Claus," as Dave declared.
Beyond the forest the road ran along a ridge, and here they found traveling much easier, so that all entered the sleigh once more and rode. But at the end of the ridge they found a hollow covered even with snow.
"What"s the trouble now?" questioned the Englishman, as Hendrik pulled in his four horses.