The night was so bright that the spruce trees cast vivid shadows on the snow.

Overhead there were a billion stars in a sky as dear as an open sea, and the Great Dipper shone like a constellation of tiny suns.

The world did not need a moon.

At a distance of three hundred yards Philip could have seen a caribou if it had passed.

He sat close to his fire, with the heat of it reflected from the blackened face of a huge rock, finishing the snare which had taken him an hour to weave.