Homesteading 



in the air which made it pleasant to stand over 

 the stove as we prepared our supper. 



Next morning we were early astir, and found 

 the prairie lying under a cold fog, with a white 

 frost covering everything. 



" How about those chickens you were count- 

 ing on now ? " said I to my companion, as we 

 hitched up our team. 



" Does look bad, but we shall soon hear what 

 those chaps on No. 9 have got to say about it," 

 returned Tom. 



We followed the trail which led to our friends' 

 place with some difficulty, and Nancy, who was 

 tied behind as usual, kept her foal near by con- 

 stant whinnying. 



As the sun gained power, however, the mist 

 gradually lifted, and disclosed one of the most 

 glorious of Nature's scenes our eyes had ever 

 rested on. From every blade of grass, from 

 every sprig of willow and poplar in the bluffs, 

 there flashed and scintillated a gorgeous array 

 of diamonds. 



Mjrriads and myriads of tiny points, up to great 

 crystals of ice a quarter or half an inch square, 

 shone in the sun, and as we passed the lake we 

 noticed that it was sheeted with glittering ice ; 

 but, alas, in many of the deeper hollows, and over 

 many a large patch of standing grain, the mist 



120 



