BILL MCCLAIN PROSPECTOR 205 



the mail and told of heavy snows over the state 

 and of a number of damaging slides down the 

 range. All went early to bed. Joe as usual 

 slept on the floor by McClain' s bunk in the rear 

 of the cabin. 



Outside it was a white winter night, cold but 

 not bitterly so. The almost full moon shone 

 from a clear sky, and, with the snow, made a 

 subdued, silvery and enchanting light. A little 

 past midnight McClain awoke, and at once arose 

 and dressed. He was a trifle uneasy. Several 

 times he peered through the window at the range 

 above the gulch. It stood out with surprising 

 distinctness in the moonlight. The shadow of 

 the cabin upon the snow was as dark and dis- 

 tinct as though carved from coal. The air was 

 still, and the slender scattered fir trees stood 

 tall, dark towers in the splendid, silent night. 

 The deep shadows the moon made with them 

 on the luminous snow stood out more distinctly 

 than the trees themselves. 



McClain sat down by the window and began 

 repairing a strap on one of his skees. Pausing 

 in his work for a look at the range, he beheld a 

 snow-cloud covering the precipitous slope. This 

 told him that a slide had started. As the slide 

 might smash its way through the forest and sweep 

 the gulch, he made a dash for the other cabins 

 to awaken everyone. Joe remained at home, 



