Chapter 24 Summary

It is almost Christmas. The thought of the holiday and Matt's mother's plum pudding is both happy and sad, since Matt knows that this Christmas Day will be just like all the other days. He has his memories, though. The first heavy snowfall makes it difficult for Matt to even open the cabin door, but he finally fashions a shovel of sorts from a piece of firewood and pries the door open so he can go out into the bright sunshine and deep snow. Trying on his snowshoes, he is at first clumsy. However, with a little practice, he is able to maneuver on top of the snow, and he realizes that he is very happy for the first time in a long while. He no longer fears the winter. Returning to the cozy cabin, Matt curls up by the fire and he...