“I—I guess,” quavered Dot, “that we’ll just have to lie right down here and let the snow cover us all—all up.”
“I do wish, child, when you get into trouble that you wouldn’t give up all hope, right first off!” exclaimed Tess, rather exasperated at her sister. “Of course we are not going to give up and lie down in this snow.”
“Of course not!” echoed Sammy Pinkney.
Nevertheless, Sammy experienced a chill up and down his spine, and the short hairs at the back of his neck stiffened. It was borne upon his mind all of a sudden that they were lost—utterly lost! He could not understand how they had got off of the straight path to Red Deer Lodge; but he was very sure that they had done so and, as far as he knew, they were miles and miles away from that shelter and from their friends.
Yet there seemed nothing to do but keep on through the snow—as long as they could press forward. Tess was quite as plucky as he made believe to be. And they could haul Dot a little way at a time on the sled.
“But we’re going on, Sammy, without getting anywhere,” was Tess’ very wise observation. “I think we ought to scrouge down under something until the snow stops.”
“Just like the Babes in the Woods,” wailed Dot, who knew all the nursery stories.
“Do be still!” cried her sister, quite tartly. “Sammy and I are going to find you a nice place to stop, Dot.”
“Well, I hope it’s a place with a fire in it, ’cause I’m cold,” complained the smallest Corner House girl.
They all wished for a fire and shelter, but the older ones feared with reason that both comforts would not be immediately found. Sammy had not ventured forth this time prepared for all emergencies, as he had the time that Dot and he ran away to sail piratically the canal. He had no means of making a fire, even if he could find fuel.