His boot knife flashed. Wire snapped free, and the woman sagged. She didn\u2019t scream; she had no strength. Silas caught her, lifted her as if she were paper, then gathered the babies one by one, tucking them beneath his coat with a wool blanket from the saddle.<\/p>\n
They had half a mile uphill to his cabin. The wind slashed. The horse sidestepped, ears flat.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t die here,\u201d Silas told the cold, or God, or perhaps the woman whose weight was next to nothing. \u201cNot on my land.\u201d<\/p>\n
He carried them home through a world of white.<\/p>\n
The cabin was four walls and a sloped roof groaning under snow. The hearth was dead. Silas kicked the door wide, set the woman on a bed of quilts by the cold firebox, and settled the infants into a basket lined with rabbit pelts. Then he worked\u2014wood, tinder, breath, spark\u2014until the hearth caught and the room breathed again.<\/p>\n
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