Canyon Winter by Morey Walt

Author:Morey, Walt [Morey, Walt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780613125482
Amazon: B00WKU70LK
Barnesnoble: B00WKU70LK
Goodreads: 53961
Publisher: Puffin
Published: 1972-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

9

They got their first rip-snorter of a blizzard the middle of January.

The deer and elk herds disappeared. Omar said they were out of the storm in the thick brush or against protective banks.

Peter ventured outside only to get wood. The driving wind cut the heat from his body the few minutes he was out. It left him chilled to the bone.

Omar fed Bill and Solomon, who both stayed in the shed. He brought in a sack of frozen venison and cut three big steaks. “No sense gettin’ into this storm every day for a piece,” he explained. “These’ll hold us three or four days. Maybe in that time the storm’ll be over.”

Snow swirled across the earth. Wind whistled at the corners of the cabin. But inside, the stove threw out heat and the cabin was warm and comfortable. Watching the storm became monotonous, and Peter wandered about the room.

The lamp was lit even in the middle of the day. Omar sat at the table laboriously mending a torn shirt.

He said, without looking up, “This’s the hardest part of livin’ alone out here, being cooped up by a blizzard. If you can take this, you can make it all right. Lots of men find they can’t. Some’ve gone temporarily crazy. Cabin fever they call it. Now this winter, I’ve got it soft, you bein’ with me and all. And that’s a fact.”

“How did you manage in the past?”

Omar bit off the thread and inspected the patched pocket. “Secret’s in keepin’ busy at something. Spring, summer, and fall’s no problem. You can always be outside and find a hundred things to think about and do. Winter’s somethin’ else. I think up something different to cook, or mend a shirt, or I read that pile of newspapers and old magazines again. Maybe I’ll read the same article or story four or five times. Can’t tell, I mighta missed something the first couple of times,” he said. “Seein’ as you don’t sew and have got nothin’ to make, you’d better head for that pile of magazines. Now that I got this shirt patched I’m gonna make a gold-dust poke outa that deer hide.” He got out the hide and began to cut and sew.

Peter read. The wind howled. The snow piled higher on the windowsill. The frost was a quarter-inch thick on the glass. Dark came early. Peter loaded the wood box.

Omar finished his poke and poured the gold dust into it.

They ate supper. Omar went out and fed Bill a couple of leftover biscuits. He took an extra helping of fresh venison cubes to Solomon.

“You’re not going to leave the sliding door open for Marty tonight?” Peter asked.

“Of course. I worked with him for months before I got him to come in like he does now.”

“But it’ll let in a lot of cold.”

“Not much. That hole’s not so big, and the wind’s hittin’ the other side of the cabin. Anyway, Marty’s like a neighbor that drops in daily for a cup of coffee. He helps break the monotony.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.