No sound at all came. There was
not even a wind to rustle the bare boughs. The sun hung a huge
red globe in the west, and all that side of the earth was tinged
with a red glare, wintry and cold despite its redness. Then, as
the earth turned, the sun was lost behind it, and the cold dark
came.
Henry found it so comfortable in his burrow that all his muscles
were soothed, and he grew sleepy. It would have been very
pleasant to doze there, but he brought himself round with an
effort of the will, and became as wide awake as ever. He was
eager to be off on his expedition, but he knew how much depended
on waiting, and he waited. One hour, two hours, three hours,
four hours, still and dark, passed in the forest before he roused
himself from his covert. Then, warm, strong, and tempered like
steel for his purpose, he put on his snowshoes, and advanced
toward the point from which the column of smoke had risen.
He had never been more cautious and wary than he was now. He was
a formidable figure in the darkness, crouched forward, and moving
like some spirit of the wilderness, half walking, half gliding.
Although the night had come out rather clear, with many cold
stars twinkling in the blue, the line of smoke was no longer
visible.
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