It is as if we are being shown the entire range of Montana weather in a matter of days. Temperatures drop below zero degrees for seven nights running. Our hens stop laying, and several of them die from a respiratory disease we have never before encountered. Womenshome’s septic tank freezes, forcing the single women to use the facilities in Elderlodge. Jerome and John both suffer frostbite on their ears and fingers from long hours spent in the field hunting the wolf. Although they have brought in three deer for our larders, they have seen no wolf sign, not even so much as a track. The death of Sister Kari’s baby hangs over Nodd as well. The infant was buried in our cemetery without a funeral. Brother Von chiseled through the frozen loam and dug the grave. It is one of the few tasks with which he is trusted. We are not even told whether it was a boy or a girl. The grave is marked with a simple wooden cross, now buried deep beneath the crusted snow. On the tenth day of the cold spell, Father Grace gathers us together in the Hall of Enoch to announce that another soul will soon be joining us.
