He slept heavily and was not awakened until nearly noon, when he saw through the window a world entirely changed.

The rain had melted only a portion of the snow, and when it ceased after sunrise the day had turned much colder, freezing every thing hard and tight.

The surface of valley, slopes and ridges was covered with a thick armor of ice, smooth as glass, and giving back the rays of a brilliant sun in colors as vivid and varied as those of a rainbow.
Every tree and bush, to the last little twig, was sheathed also in silver, and along the slopes the forests of dwarfed cedar and pines were a vast field of delicate and complex tracery.
It was a glittering and beautiful world, but cold and merciless.

Dick saw at once that the whole force, captors and captured, was shut in for the time.

It was impossible for horses to advance over a field of ice, and it was too difficult even for men to be considered seriously.
There was nothing to do but remain in the valley until circumstances allowed them to move, and reflection told him they would not lose much by it.