Ehapler fine<br >THE man called Edge eased open the door of the<br >Three Horseshoes Saloon and looked out from the al-<br >most-pitch darkness at a world of bright color. White<br >and green and yellow and blue. He blinked just once<br >against the dazzle of sunrise across the snow-covered<br >mountaluseape， then pulled the door fully open and<br >stretched his arms as he arched his back. These actions<br >dispelled the final remnants of sleep from his brain and<br > ~ . 1 .<br >muscles. The bltin~ chdl of the outside air had no ef-<br >fect， for it could fiqt have been more than a degree<br >colder than the atmosphere inside.<br > For long moments his narrowed eyes shifted from<br >left and right and back again， surveying the distant wil-<br >derness and the closer evidence of civilization s<br >comings and goings. Then he worked saliva into his<br >mouth， swilled it around with his tongue， and spat it<br >out in a long stream to mar the perfect whiteness of the<br >night s snowfall. His expression revealed nothing of<br >what he felt--whether he had tried to rid himself of<br >the aftertaste of yesterday s cigarettes or had registered<br >a tacit comment on the view his eyes had so carefully<br >studied.<br > He turned and went back into thedepths of the<br >saloon， leaving the door open so that the bleak sunlight<br >could penetrate: The brightness emphasized the squalor<br >of the setting and the conformity of the man s appear-<br >ance with his surroundings. For the saloon was cold<br ><br >