six o'clock in the evening
As they did not wish to be caught in a storm , they started on the return to the gulch as rapidly as their loads would permit . They were still in the woods when the first flakes began to fall . With the coming of the snow the wind began to rise , shaking the bare limbs above them savagely and causing a lively tumble of dead branches on every side . Not to become stormbound , they increased their pace , reaching the lower end of the gulch by six o'clock in the evening . They could hardly see before them , so thickly did the flakes come down , and both considered themselves fortunate in having struck familiar ground . By the time the cabin was reached the snow was six inches deep . `` We thought you 'd be snowed under ! ''