'Must be the hilly ground,' he shouted, for the wind was now so fierce and the noise so great that the ordinary voice was drowned. 'Swing to the left; we have evidently got a little out of our course and have struck the place beyond the end.'
A biting wind swept them, as they turned to force their way along the foot of the hilly ground. So keen was it that David found himself gasping for breath, and knew that unless he and his comrades could discover some sheltered spot swiftly, they would be overcome by cold and exposure. Pressing to the front he led the small party, encouraging his sturdy little pony at every stride. He gave a shout of joy when the white wall on his left suddenly fell away, and was lost in the obscurity of the falling snow. And what a relief it was to be able to swing again, and turn his back to the wind! None who have not experienced such an icy blast can judge of its fierceness. But even with their backs turned the danger was great, and to halt there was to court disaster. Stiffened in every limb as he was, David urged on his following, shouting to encourage them while he spurred his pony to still further effort. At last they had some reward. They rounded the tail end of the hilly ground and gained the sheltered side, where the full force of the wind could not play upon them. But even here shelter was absolutely necessary.
'Keep a sharp look-out for a gap in the rocks,' he called out. 'If we don't find a place soon we never shall, for we shall be dead men. What's that, Jong?'
'Tink I see a hole ober dere, sar. Not sure, but tink.'
His voice was almost completely muffled behind the mass of material he had wound round his neck, but the hand he held forward stiffly was sufficient. David halted the party.
'Wait here while I go and see!' he shouted. 'Call out now and again so that I can find you again. Don't move from where you are.'
He spurred his pony towards the face of the hill, and uttered a cry of delight when he discovered that Jong had made no error. At once he called the men.
'There's what looks like a cave here,' he said. 'Dismount and bring the ponies right in. Then we'll get a lamp alight, and take a look round.'
The lamp showed that they had gained the shelter of a large hollow, the opening to which was so large that, had the wind been in the opposite direction, snow would certainly long since have filled the place. As it was, it was already drifting in, carried by back eddies. The floor was covered with fine sand, blackened in one part where a fire had once been lit, while drift wood, blown from the outside plateau, filled all corners and crannies. David surveyed the whole place closely, then gave his orders without hesitation.
'Pitch the two tents at the entrance,' he said. 'They'll fill the gap and keep the snow out. Then we'll get a fire going, and with that and the heat from our ponies we ought soon to become a little less frozen. Lucky thing we happened upon this hole.'