After a while he paused.
"Say, Ned, is that a sheep-trail across there on the other side?"
Ned looked hard in the direction indicated, shading his eyes with his hand to get a better view.
"It looks more like a bear's trail," he replied, "only the bears are all holed up still."
"It's pretty well used, whatever it is, and I guess we should find it a sight better travelling there than it is here. Shall we try it?"
As it happened the snow was exceptionally deep where the two men stood, so that they sank up to their knees at every step. A beaten trail of any kind would therefore save them an infinite amount of labour.
"Yes, let's," said Ned, with the brusqueness of a man who needs all his breath for other uses.
To get to the trail Corbett and Rampike had to cross the canyon, and in places this was almost impossible, both men sinking from time to time almost out of sight in the snow.
Twice Rampike voted that they should give up the attempt, and twice Corbett persuaded him to go on.
At last, sweating and trembling with exertion, they got clear of the worst of the snow and stood upon the edge of the trail.