Then he took off his little fur-jacket and drew it over her
little arms. About his own shoulders and arms which now showed the bare
shirt he tied the little kerchief Sauna had worn over her chest and the
larger one she had had over her shoulders. That was enough for himself,
he thought, and if he only stepped briskly he should not be cold.
He took the little girl by her hand, so they marched on. The girl with
her docile little eyes looked out into the monotonous gray round about
and gladly followed him, only her little hurrying feet could not keep up
with his, for he was striding onward like one who wanted to decide a
matter once for all.
Thus they proceeded with the unremitting energy children and animals
have as they do not realize how far their strength will carry them, and
when their supply of it will give out.
But as they went on they did not notice whether they were going down or
up. They had turned down to the right at once, but they came again to
places that led up. Often they encountered steep places which they were
forced to avoid, and a trench in which they continued led them about in
a curve. They climbed heights which grew ever steeper as they proceeded,
and what they thought led downward was level ground, or it was a
depression, or the way went on in an even stretch.
"Where are we, I wonder, Conrad?" asked the girl.
"I don't know," he answered.
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