"We won't do that either," replied Frank. "That is, if we keep moving, and that's what we've got to do. It may not get us anywhere, but at least it will keep the blood circulating. Then too, there's the odd chance of our stumbling upon some hut or other where we can find some kind of shelter."
"Better let me go first, then," put in Bart. "I'm good at stumbling. In fact it's my long suit."
They all laughed and felt better.
"We don't know where we're going, but we're on the way," sang out
Billy, as they began to trudge forward.
They had plenty of rations with them, and they munched some food as they went along. It was cold comfort, but it was comfort just the same.
"Oh, you hot coffee!" murmured Billy, and at the picture that he conjured up the others groaned.
The snow was now knee deep and showed no signs of letting up, though the wind had abated somewhat in violence.
They plodded on through the heavy drifts that clutched at their tired legs like so many nightmare hands trying to hold them back to their destruction. They were young and hardy, but their physical strength was sorely tested by the battle with the elements. Their hearts were thumping as though they would burst through their ribs, and their breath came in gasps.
Suddenly Frank's keen eyes caught sight of a dark mass that seemed to stand out even blacker than the darkness which was everywhere around them. He rubbed his eyes clear of the snow that clung to the lashes and looked again. Then he gave a shout.
"We've found it, boys!" he yelled. "There's a building of some kind just ahead of us. See it? See it?"