The sooner he finished his contract, the sooner he could return, and there was much to be done next morning.

The job had not begun well.
He got up at sunrise and spent several days repairing the damage the accident had caused, after which, for a time, things went smoothly.
Then, one morning, he stood on a rocky ledge of the island, waiting while two of his men dragged an iron pulley backwards and forwards along a trolley wire.
The morning was clear and cold, and the snow had crept nearer the belt of dwindling pines that looked like matches tufted with moss.

They grew in size as they rolled down the tremendous slopes, until they towered above the track in tall, dark spires.

The mist had gone; rocks and trees and glistening summits were sharply cut, but the valley was rather marked by savage grandeur than beauty.

There was something about its aspect that struck a warning note.