Keeps up for four or five days; they'll be lucky to find the haystacks." For a long time then, the three stood looking out the window, striving--merely for the sake of passing time--to identify the almost hidden buildings of the little town, scarcely more than a hundred yards away.

At last the wire opened again, and the operator went once more to his desk.

Ba'tiste and Houston waited for him to give some report.
But there was none.

At last: "What is it ?" Houston was at his side.

The operator looked up.
"Denver asking Marionville if it can put its snowplow through and try to buck the drifts from this side.