From its long sweep over the unbroken prairie a heavier blast than usual shook the slight frame house. The windows rattled in the casements, as if shivering in their dumb way in the December storm. So open and defective was the dwelling in its construction, that eddying currents of cold air found admittance at various points-in some instances carrying with them particles of the fine, sharp, hail-like snow that the gale was driving before it in blinding fury.