"No, man! We'd be lost in the snow afore we went twicet and arrer shot."
"But those kids—"
"Don't bust a button," Snedeker advised. "That Ellis Garner, he's nobody's fool. He'll know what to do."
"I'm going anyhow!"
Snedeker walked to the rifle rack, took a rifle from it and grasped its muzzle with both hands. "Try it an' I'll lay you out with this."
"We can't get through?"
"We can't, an' you got the rest of your family to think about."
"I—"
"Stop fussin'. Even the sojers that went down a while back haven't showed up. They had to den in the snow. No sense throwin' your life away. When the snow stops, I'll go with you. Now git to your cabin an' act like you had some sense."
Joe stumbled through the wind-driven snow and only dimly could he even see the cabin. He opened the door and needed all his strength to close it against the wind. Though it lacked hours until nightfall, Emma had lighted a lantern and her face was white in its flow.