The air was still and cold, and the sky of a deep, dark blue, which seemed even darker in contrast with the whiteness of the snow.

At times they had great difficulty in struggling through the deep drifts; but for the most part the wind had swept the path clear.

Where it was deepest, the tops of the posts still showed above the snow, and enabled the guide to direct their footsteps.

They were, however, obliged to travel slowly, and it was three days before they gained the village on the northern slope of the mountains, having slept at refuges by the road.
"What are your plans ?" the knight asked Sir Cuthbert that night, as they sat by the fire of the hostelry.

"I would warn you that the town which you will first arrive at is specially hostile to your people, for the baron, its master, is a relation of Conrad of Montferat, who is said to have been killed by order of your king." "It is false," Cuthbert said.