When I began to prepare our bed on one side of the flaming logs, to my surprise Field began to prepare one on the other side of the fire.

Neither had spoken since the occurrence of the little unpleasantness in the afternoon about the course of travel.

Mutely each took his side of the fire.
We had always slept together except when he was sick and the night I had left him alone at the fort.

Some time in the night I became thirsty and got up and procured some snow, put it in our only tin cup and set it on some live coals to melt and went to sleep.

The snow melted, the water evaporated, the solder melted and left the tin.