[lemma=assumption] | [word=as | □=□]
[lemma=assumption] | [word=as | lemma=□]
[lemma=assumption] | [word=as | word=□]
As many jackrabbits and horned toads lived there as people . The journalists ' assumption that this gray-eyed stranger was here because of Cassandra might have remained just that , for he had almost reached the double doors through which they could not pass . Like many climbers on Hood 's standard route , they had started in the middle of the night with a snowcat ride to the top of the ski area . Upon her fifteenth birthday , she was invited to join in her parents ' soirees , to hear firsthand the intellectual debate , and to add her own opinions so long as she 'd thought them through . Chase whispered his gratitude even as he began his journey toward the glass , toward her . They were passing through the band of ice-encrusted rocks known as the Pearly Gates , the steepest part of the climb , when Biggs suddenly slipped . Her brother , who had announced his intention of visiting her early in the afternoon would have gone by now ; he knew nothing of this morning 's bad news - the instinct of a wounded animal to creep away by itself had prompted her to keep her sorrow from him as long as possible . Then I heard a grating noise overhead , like the dragging of a heavy body across the floor ; then the throwing down of the body , and the shaking of my windows in response to the con - cussion . I saw her feet crazily high in the air and she crashed against a bin . I realized that this was his way of respect - fully protesting against the unnecessary delay and sank back in the carriage , merely motioning him to proceed .