'Tell the men to ride in close to us, Jong,' he ordered. 'The snow is so thick that though they are only a few paces to one side I can scarcely see them. A man might easily stray away without himself or his comrades being the wiser.'
For a quarter of an hour the party plodded along, their heads down, and collars drawn up close to their caps. By then they could not see more than a dozen feet before them, and for all they knew might have been travelling in a circle.
'Wouldn't be difficult to do that,' thought David. 'But the wind helps; when we face it one can scarcely breathe. If we keep it astern all the while we must be going in the right direction.'
He was already deadly cold and frozen almost to the marrow before a shout from Chu-Li announced that he had made a discovery. He pointed to the front, and peering between the snowflakes David saw a mass of white barring their progress.
'Must be the hilly ground,' he shouted, for the wind was now so fierce and the noise so great that the ordinary voice was drowned. 'Swing to the left; we have evidently got a little out of our course and have struck the place beyond the end.'
A biting wind swept them, as they turned to force their way along the foot of the hilly ground. So keen was it that David found himself gasping for breath, and knew that unless he and his comrades could discover some sheltered spot swiftly, they would be overcome by cold and exposure. Pressing to the front he led the small party, encouraging his sturdy little pony at every stride. He gave a shout of joy when the white wall on his left suddenly fell away, and was lost in the obscurity of the falling snow. And what a relief it was to be able to swing again, and turn his back to the wind! None who have not experienced such an icy blast can judge of its fierceness. But even with their backs turned the danger was great, and to halt there was to court disaster. Stiffened in every limb as he was, David urged on his following, shouting to encourage them while he spurred his pony to still further effort. At last they had some reward. They rounded the tail end of the hilly ground and gained the sheltered side, where the full force of the wind could not play upon them. But even here shelter was absolutely necessary.