He had no doubt that he knew exactly in which direction camp lay, and it never entered his head that he might go wrong or lose his way as he dashed through the woods at the best speed of which he was capable.
Presently the impediment of the snow compelled him to reduce his gait to a walk, and for nearly an hour he pushed on in what he supposed was a straight line, when he came suddenly upon fresh axe cuttings and a moment later saw through the thickly falling snow a familiar lean-to.
He stopped in consternation and fright, scarcely knowing which way to turn.

He was within fifty feet of the two desperate men from whom he had so recently fled.

In the storm he had made a complete circuit.
The men were still soundly sleeping, and instinctively Jamie backed away.

He had lost a full hour of valuable time.

The men might awake at any moment, discover his absence and trail him and overtake him in the snow.
These thoughts flashed through Jamie's mind, and in wild panic he turned and ran until at length exhaustion brought him to a halt.
"They'll sure be cotchin' me," he panted, "and I'm not knowin' the way in the snow! I'll be goin' right around and comin' back again to the same place if I don't look out! I can't bide here," he continued in desperation.