Noon
And shortly after they broke camp the first snowflakes began to drift down , slowly at first , then more rapidly , until the grayness of the sky and the misty woods were enveloped in the white swirl of the storm . It was not particularly cold . Bill wrapped her in a heavy canvas coat , and plodded on . Noon passed , and he made no stop . If anything , he increased his pace . Suddenly , late in the afternoon , they stepped out of the timber into a little clearing , in which the blurred outline of a cabin showed under the wide arms of a leafless tree . The melting snow had soaked through the coat ; her feet were wet with the clinging flakes , and the chill of a lowering temperature had set Hazel shivering .