It should have a warm, pretty cradle. It should--"
The door opened and her husband entered.
"Why, Blanche--what's the matter? You've let the fire go out. It's cold
as blixen in here. You'll take cold, first you know."
VI
DECEMBER
Winter came late, but with a fury which appalled the strong hearts of
the settlers. Most of them were from the wooded lands of the East, and
the sweep of the wind across this level sod had a terror which made them
quake and cower. The month of December was incredibly severe.
Day after day the thermometer fell so far below zero that no living
thing moved on the wide, white waste. The snows seemed never at rest.
One storm followed another, till the drifting, icy sands were worn as
fine as flour. The house was like a cave. Its windows, thick with frost,
let in only a pallid light at midday. There was little for Blanche to
do, and there was nothing for her to say to Willard, who came and went
aimlessly between the barn and house. His poor old team could no longer
face the cold wind without danger of freezing, and so he walked to the
store for the mail and the groceries.
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