The autumn upon the summits of mountains.
Marco and Forester had not anticipated stormy weather of any kind,
when they left home; for the wind was west and the sky was clear.
When, however, they had accomplished about one half of their journey,
large masses of fleecy clouds began to drive over the mountains,
and presently, all at once, it began to snow. Marco was extremely
delighted to see the snow falling. Forester was not so much pleased.
On the other hand, he looked somewhat concerned. He did not at first
think how the snow could do them any serious injury, but he seemed to
have an undefined sense of danger from it, and appeared uneasy. They
both, however, walked on.
The region through which the path led at the time when the snow came
on, was a tract of flat land on the summit of the mountainous range,
with small and scattered trees here and there upon it. The best thing,
probably, for the travelers to have done in the emergency would have
been to have turned round the moment it began to snow, and go back as
fast as possible by the way that they came, as long as they were sure
of the path, and then to wait until the fallen snow had melted. If
they found then that the snow did not melt, so that they could see the
path again, it would be better to return altogether, as their chance
of being able to follow the path back toward their home would be much
greater than that of pursuing it forward; for they might expect to
find some guidance, in going back, by their recognition of the place
which they had passed in ascending.
Forester, however, did not happen to think of this; and so when it
began to snow, his only immediate desire was to go forward as fast as
possible, so as to get into the woods again where he and Marco would
be in some measure under shelter.
Marco finding that Forester appeared somewhat anxious, began to feel
some sentiment of fear himself.
"Who would have thought," said he, "that we should have got caught out
in this snow-storm?"
"Oh, it is not a snow-storm," replied Forester. "It is only a little
snow flurry. It will be over in a few minutes."
"How do you know that it is not going to be a snow-storm?" asked
Marco.
"Because storms never come out of the west," replied Forester.
It snowed, however, faster and faster, and the ground soon began to be
entirely whitened. Forester pressed on, but he soon found himself at
a loss for his way. The air was so filled with the descending flakes,
that he could see only a very short distance before him. The view
of the forests and mountains was cut off on every side, and nothing
presented itself to the eye but the dim forms of the rocks and trees
which were near. These, too, were indistinct and shapeless. The ground
was soon entirely covered, and all hope of finding the path entirely
disappeared. Forester went back then a short distance, endeavoring to
retrace his steps. He followed the foot-prints a little way, but all
traces of them were soon obliterated. When he found that the steps
could no longer be seen, he went toward a tree which he saw rising
dimly at a little distance before him. The tree proved to be a large
hemlock, with wide-spreading branches. There was a place under this
tree where the ground was bare, having been sheltered from the snow by
the branches of the tree. There were some rocks too lying under this
tree. Forester walked up to them and sat down. Marco followed his
example.
"Well, Marco," said Forester, "we are really lost."
"And what are we going to do?" asked Marco, with a countenance of
great concern.
"The first thing is," said Forester, "to open the knapsack, and see
what there is inside that is good to eat."
So Forester took the knapsack off from his shoulders, - for he had
taken it from Marco some time before, and laying it upon a large
flat stone by his side, he began to open it, and to take out the
provisions.
Forester was afraid that he and Marco had got themselves into somewhat
serious difficulty, but he wished to teach Marco that in emergencies
of such a nature, it would do no good to give way to a panic, or to
unnecessary anxiety. So he assumed an unconcerned and contented air,
and made arrangements for the luncheon, just as if they had stopped
there to eat it of their own accord, and without being in any
difficulty whatever about the prosecution of the journey.
Marco, however, seemed to be quite uneasy.
"What are we going to do?" said he. "If we get lost in this
snow-storm, we shall have to stay in the woods perhaps all night."
"Yes," said Forester, "that we can do. We have done that before."
Forester here alluded to an occasion on which he and Marco had spent
the night in a hut in the woods, when traveling in Maine.
"But we had an axe then," said Marco, "to make a camp."
"Yes," replied Forester, "that is true. I don't think, however, that
we shall have to stay in the woods all night now. We have _three_
chances for avoiding it."
"What are the three?" said Marco.
"Why, in the first place," replied Forester, "we can stay where we are
until it stops snowing, - in fact it has almost stopped now. Then I
presume that the sun will come out, and in half an hour melt away all
the snow. Then we can find our path again, and go on."
"But I don't think it is certain that we can find our path again,"
said Marco.
