The cabin was hidden very cunningly. Crouched among the mighty
boulders which earthquakes and storms of some wilder, earlier epoch
had torn away from the side of the crags above, the house was like
another stone, leaning its back to the mountain for support.
When she drew very close she knew that the light which glimmered at
the window must come from an open fire, and the thought of a fire
warmed her. She hallooed, and receiving no answer, fastened the horses
and entered the house. The door swung to behind her, as if of its own
volition it wished to make her a prisoner.
The place consisted of one room, and not a spacious one at that, but
arranged as a shelter, not a home. The cooking, apparently, was done
over the open hearth, for there was no sign of any stove, and,
moreover, on the wall near the fireplace hung several soot-blackened
pans and the inevitable coffeepot. There were two bunks built on
opposite sides of the room, and in the middle a table was made of a
long section split from the heart of a log by wedges, apparently, and
still rude and undressed, except for the preliminary smoothing off
which had been done with a broad-ax.
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