And he knew the roan well enough to feel sure that he would do credit to his master.

"He'll put in his best licks," Bud whispered to himself many a time before daybreak.
The ground was but little frozen, and the snow made the roads more slippery than ever.

But the rough-shod roan handled his feet dexterously and with a playful and somewhat self-righteous air, as though he said: "Didn't I do it handsomely that time ?" Down slippery hills, through deep mud-holes covered with a slender film of ice he trod with perfect assurance.

And then up over the rough stones of Rocky Hollow, where there was no road at all, he picked his way through the darkness and snow.

Ralph could not tell where he was at last, but gave the reins to the roan, who did his duty bravely, and not without a little flourish, to show that he had yet plenty of spare power.
A feeble candle-ray, making the dense snow-fall visible, marked for Ralph the site of the basket-maker's cabin.