Page:Where the Dead Men Lie.djvu/51



The snow lies deep on hill and dale, In rocky gulch and grassy vale: The tiny, trickling, tumbling falls Are frozen 'twixt their rocky walls That grey and brown look silent down Upon Kiandra's shrouded town.

The Eucumbene itself lies dead, Fast frozen in its narrow bed; And distant sounds ring out quite near, The crystal air is froze so clear; While to and fro the people go In silent swiftness o'er the snow.

And, like a mighty gallows-frame, The derrick in the New Chum claim Hangs over where, despite the cold, Strong miners seek the hidden gold, And stiff and blue, half-frozen through, The fickle dame of Fortune woo. 29