Explore "Carson of Red River" by Harold Bindloss on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Wheeler put down the Montreal newspaper and knitted his brows. Snow beat the office windows and the lamp burned unsteadily. A savage wind screamed in the trees and the river brawled. Winter ought to have begun, and Wheeler had expected keen frost to follow the snow, but all the snow that fell melted, and when it went cold rain swelled the pools along the muddy track.
Had the frost arrived, Wheeler would have sent off most of the men and cut expenses by keeping only the limited number he could usefully employ. Now, however, he must carry on as long and fast as possible. The drawback was, he might not finish all he began, and when the spring floods hurled the ice floes against the piers, girders and columns must be firmly stayed. A Canadian river's breaking is an impressive spectacle.