THE CHINOOK WIND The frost got more rigorous, drying the snow to a dusty powder in which Festing's lumber gang floundered awkwardly.

Had there been a thaw, the surface would have hardened, but now they were forced to move the logs through loose, billowy drifts.

The men sank to their knees, it was difficult to find a fulcrum for the handspikes, and the logs would not run well on the beaten roads.

The latter broke into holes, and the dry snow retarded the smooth sliding of the lumber like dust.

One could not touch a saw or ax-head with the naked hand.
Festing had seen that he might be embarrassed by hard frost, but had not expected it to continue.