CHAPTER XXVI
DAYS OF WAITING
With the coming of night a strong wind sprang up, and by ten o'clock it was blowing a gale. The wind caused the house to rock and groan, and for the travelers sound sleep was out of the question. The man in charge, however, had experienced such a condition of affairs before and did not appear to mind it.
"Some great winds here at times," he said to Granbury Lapham. "Once the top of the house was blown off and sailed away down into the valley."
"Excuse me, but I don't want to be here at such a time, don't you know," answered the Englishman.
The wind increased steadily, and at midnight it was blowing so furiously that Dave thought the shelter might go over. He went towards the door, to find a quantity of snow sifting in above the sill.
"Hello, it must be snowing again!" he remarked. "That's too bad, for it will make traveling worse than ever."
It was snowing, and the downfall continued all night and half of the next day. The wind piled it up against the house until it reached the roof, burying two of the windows completely from sight.
"This is a regular North Pole experience," remarked Roger, as he bustled around in the morning, trying to get warm. "I don't know that I want to go much further north."