Then she would return, chilled through, to issue out again after the lapse of a few moments, but always in vain.
Evening came, and the little band had not returned.

Where could they be?
Had they found the Indians, and were they having a conflict with them, or were they still wandering amid the mist?
The commander of the fort was anxious, though he tried to conceal his apprehensions.

As night approached, the snow fell less plentifully, but it became intensely cold.

Absolute silence rested on the plains.

Neither flight of bird nor passing of beast troubled the perfect calm.
Throughout the night Aouda, full of sad forebodings, her heart stifled with anguish, wandered about on the verge of the plains.