“Is there a telephone in the house?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“No, it’s disconnected when we leave in the autumn.”
There was a moment’s silence, then she said questioningly: “What shall we do?”
“There’s only one thing we can do,” he returned; “go into the house and light a fire.”
But Christine hesitated.
“I don’t think it will be wise to waste time doing that,” she said, “if you have to go back on foot to the Usshers’—”
“Go back on foot!” Riatt interrupted. “My dear Miss Fenimer, that is quite impossible. It must be every inch of ten miles, it’s dark, a blizzard is blowing, I don’t know the way, and we haven’t passed a house.”
“But, but,” said she, “suppose they don’t rescue us to-night?”
“They probably will to-morrow,” answered Riatt, and he walked past her into the house.