"My, but it'll be a cold trip for Dan comin' home," said Judith, as she snuggled down under the covers. "He'll be on the road now, poor feller."
"Yes, it'll come close to zero. An' the wind makes it that much worse."
In the middle of the night Judith stirred uneasily, then sat up in bed listening.
"Jerry," she cried, shaking him by the shoulder. "Somebody's a-hammerin' at the door."
He started up out of a sound sleep and sat for a moment dazed. The knocking began again.
He jumped out of bed, pulled on his overalls, and opened the kitchen door.
"It's Judy's sister, Lizzie May," Judith could hear in the bedroom. "She's takin' on awful. The horses an' empty wagon has come home, an' Dan hain't with 'em. She wants you to come on over."
She recognized the voice of Ziemer Havicus, a half-grown boy who lived with his parents, nearest neighbor to Lizzie May. As soon as he had delivered his shivering message the cold and dark swallowed him up again.
Judith sprang out of bed and began to dress feverishly. In the gripping cold her numb, bewildered fingers could hardly fasten her clothes; but it was terror more than cold that made her teeth chatter.