Page:Boy scouts in the White Mountains; the story of a long hike (IA boyscoutsinwhite00eato).pdf/198

 But the rest were struggling on, and he struggled, too, though his instinct was to turn back to the wind, and beat it for the Crawford House, not realizing that over four miles of bare summit lay between him and the sheltering woods.

Suddenly Art and Mr. Rogers ahead gave a cry. The rest, looking, saw dimly in the swirling vapor only a pile of stones and a cross.

"It's the spot where Curtis died," Mr. Rogers shouted. "We have only a quarter of a mile to go."

"Gee, I don't think it's very cheerful," said Peanut. "I'm near frozen now."

At the sight of the cross the girl gave way. She began to sob, and Rob felt her weight suddenly sag heavily on his arm.

"Here, quick!" he yelled at her companion. "Take her other arm."

The two of them got Rob's blanket unrolled and wrapped about her, as best they could for the whipping of the gale, and then half carried her along, while she tried bravely to stop her hysterical sobbing.

The gale was now a perfect fury. It must have been blowing seventy miles an hour, and the contact of this north wind with the warmer cloud bank from the south was making a perfect hurricane vortex of half frozen vapor around these high summits. Everybody was exhausted with fighting against it, and chilled with cold. Mr. Rogers and Art, however