Ned looked out.

The wind was still whistling and moaning, and the snow, like a white veil, hid the trees.
The men one by one went to sleep on the floor.

Obed and Fields kept watch at the window during the first half of the night, and the Panther and Ned relieved them for the second half.

They heard nothing but the wind, and saw nothing but the snow.

Day came with a hidden sun, and the fine snow still driven by the wind, but the Panther, a good judge of weather, predicted a cessation of the snow within an hour.
The men awoke and rose slowly from the floor.