And there was no smell--no musk of mink that had crossed his path, no taste in the air of the strong scented fox, no subtle breath of partridge and rabbit and fleshy porcupine.

And even from the far distances there came no sound, no howl of wolf, no castanet clatter of stout moose horns against bending saplings--not even the howl of a trapper's dog.
The stillness was of the earth, and yet unearthly.

It was even as if some fearsome thing was smothering the sound of his master's feet.

To McKay, sensing these same things that Peter sensed, came understanding that brought with it an uneasiness which changed swiftly into the chill of a growing fear.

The utter lifelessness told him how vast the destruction of the fire had been.