As they struggled on to the fourth ledge， there was noistaking the fact that they were now at the top of the flat ill. Up till now the slope had given them some shelter； ere， they got the full fury of the wind. For the hill， oddly nough， was quite as flat on top as it had looked from distance： a great level tableland which the storm tore cross without resistance. In most places the snow was still ardly lying at all， for the wind kept catching it up off the round in sheets and clouds， and hurling it in their faces. nd round their feet little eddies of snow ran about as you ometimes see them doing over ice. And， indeed， in many laces， the surface was almost as smooth as ice. But to ake matters worse it was crossed and criss.crossed with urious banks or dykes， which sometimes divided it up into quares and oblongs. All these of course had to be climbed； hey varied from two to five feet in height and were about couple of yards thick. On the north side of each bank the now already lay in deep drifts； and after each climb you ame down into a drift and got wet.
