"Very well," said the farmer, "you may go. Don't you want Amos to go with you?" "No, sir, it isn't necessary." "No, sir," said Josey, "I can go with him." So Jonas threw off his load, and then turned his team about, and once more set out for the woods. He and Josey sat upon the sled, talking by the way,--the storm continuing without much change. The snow gradually increased in depth, but the oxen walked along without difficulty through it. Sometimes they came to a drift where the snow was so deep as to come in a little upon the bars, where the boys were sitting; but in general the sled runners glided along through it very smoothly. The woods appeared still more somber and solitary than they had done before. The new snow was deeper, and it was falling faster; and, besides, as it was now nearly sundown, there was only a gloomy sort of twilight, under the trees. Jonas and Josey loaded the sled as fast as they could. They put on the last of the rafters, which Jonas had collected, with great satisfaction. Josey, especially, began to be in haste to set out on his return. "Now," said Jonas, "I'll look around a little, just to see that there are none left behind." "O, no, I wouldn't," said Josey; "let us go. We've got them all, I know." "I want to be sure," said Jonas, "and make thorough work of it." So saying, he began wading about in the snow, to see if he could find any more rafters. He, however, soon satisfied himself that they were all upon the sled. He then secured his load carefully, with the chains, and they set out upon their return, as before. It grew dark rapidly, and the wind and storm increased. When they came out of the woods, they found that the air was very thick with the falling flakes, and the drifts had begun to be quite large, so that sometimes, in plunging through them, the snow would bank up quite high, before the sled, against the ends of the rafters. Jonas said that, if they had been two hours later, they could not have got along. "You said that the snow wouldn't be a foot deep by midnight," said Josey. "It is coming faster than I thought it would," said Jonas. "It is almost a foot deep now." The road by which the boys were advancing, led along the bank of the brook, until it reached nearly to the shore of the pond, and then it