He could not budge the weight; he
could not even send a tremor through the mass of wood. He dropped back
beside her with a groan. He felt her eyes upon him; she had ceased her
sobs, and looked steadily into his face.
It would have been easy for him to meet that look on the morning of
this day, but after that night's work in Morgantown he had to brace
his nerve to withstand it.
She said: "You can't budge the tree?"
"Yes--in a minute; I will try again."
"You'll only hurt yourself for nothing. I saw how you strained at it."
The greatest miracle he had ever seen was her calm. Her eyes were wide
and sorrowful indeed, but she was almost smiling up to him.
After a while he was able to say, in a faint voice: "Are you very
cold?"
She answered: "I'm not afraid. But if you stay longer with me, you may
freeze. The snow and even the tree help to keep me almost warm; but
you will freeze. Go for help; hurry, and if you can, send it back
to me."
He thought of the long miles back to Morgantown; no human being could
walk that distance against this wind; not even a strong horse could
make its way through the storm.
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