INTO DARKNESS 47

we were hurtling down the winding trail; on one side the rocky wall rose steeply, on the other gaped two thousand feet of blackness. The trail shone white between shadowy wall and yawning ravine, and the dogs galloped fiercely round sharp bends so that the sleigh would swing on one runner until it struck the next straight down-stretch. Down and down we plunged into darkness between cliff and precipice, between sunset and moonrise, until we could see the frozen river glinting far below. Across the river two moose in silhouette walked on the ice.