" "_The desire of thine heart_" Dick
repeated this, and pondered it till he fell asleep.
A misfortune soon after this befell Dick Varley which well-nigh caused
him to give way to despair. For some time past he had been approaching
the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains--those ragged, jagged,
mighty hills which run through the whole continent from north to south
in a continuous chain, and form, as it were, the backbone of America.
One morning, as he threw the buffalo robe off his shoulders and sat
up, he was horrified to find the whole earth covered with a mantle
of snow. We say he was horrified, for this rendered it absolutely
impossible any further to trace his companions either by scent or
sight.
For some time he sat musing bitterly on his sad fate, while his dog
came and laid his head sympathizingly on his arm.
"Ah, pup!" he said, "I know ye'd help me if ye could! But it's all up
now; there's no chance of findin' them--none!"
To this Crusoe replied by a low whine. He knew full well that
something distressed his master, but he hadn't yet ascertained what
it was.
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